After Reddit’s first earnings report post-IPO, CEO Steve Huffman told CNBC’s Jim Cramer that his company is commercial by nature, saying that both users and advertisers are drawn to the platform.
“Reddit is, I think, inherently commercial in a maybe non-obvious way,” Huffman said. “People are on Reddit talking about what they love to do or what they’re going to do. And so, it makes a not only fun experience around communities, but a really natural connection with, with a company’s customers.”
Reddit beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations for its first quarter, with shares popping 15% in after-hours trading. The company reported $222.7 million in ad revenue for the period, a faster growth rate than its top competitors.
Huffman described the variety of communities on Reddit and highlighted that many revolve around a certain hobby or interest. He said one of the things people do when they discover a new hobby is to discuss what gear they’re going to buy in their Reddit community.
One windfall for Reddit is its ability to attract and retain users of varying ages, Huffman said. He explained that the company starts to attract “emerging adults,” or users in their late teenage years, and manages to keep many as they age.
“Where somebody might age out of social media, they age into Reddit,” he said. “Whatever you’re into or going through on Reddit, like all of life’s ups and downs and big decisions, they’re on Reddit somewhere, and so we build really deep relationships with our users.”
