Snapchat gains users but continues to lose money [Video]

Snap shares plunged more than 16 percent on Thursday when a disappointing financial outlook eclipsed a rise in users of the image-centric social network Snapchat.

California-based Snap said its loss in the recently-ended quarter shrank to $249 million from $377 million in the same period a year earler, while revenue grew to $1.2 billion from $1 billion.

Snap touted hitting a milestone of more than 850 million monthly users in the quarter.

“We continued to scale our advertising platform with active advertisers more than doubling year-over-year,” Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel said in an earnings release.

Investors appeared to focus on Snap’s forecast that revenue would grow 12 percent to 16 percent in the current quarter, expecting more from the social network’s ad platform.

Snap shares were down more than 16 percent to $10.73 in after-market trades.

In recent years, the company has been challenged to compete for ad revenue …