The share reaction was not available at the time of writing, but the mix points to a tug of war between margin-focused and growth-focused investors. A user miss tends to weigh more heavily on social media stocks than a small revenue shortfall, because audience size underpins future ad pricing. The in-line holiday-quarter outlook offers little to change sentiment either way. Read-through to other digital advertising names is likely to be limited, given the guidance gives no clear signal on the broader ad market.---Earlier:Qualcomm beats Q4 forecasts, shares slip 2% as profit guidance comes in lightArm shares fall 5% after hours despite Q2 beat as outlook only edges past forecasts---Snap is making more money from the users it has, but it is not finding new ones as fast as the market hoped.Summary:Q3 revenue of about $1.72 billion was a touch below estimates near $1.73 billionAdjusted EBITDA of about $383 million beat forecasts of around $338 millionDaily active users reached about 495 million, short of expectations near 499 millionQ4 revenue guidance of $1.95 billion to $1.99 billion is broadly in line with the roughly $1.96 billion consensusSnap delivered a mixed set of third-quarter results, with profitability comfortably ahead of expectations but revenue and user growth falling slightly short, while its fourth-quarter outlook landed broadly in line with forecasts.The Snapchat owner reported revenue of about $1.72 billion, a touch below the roughly $1.73 billion analysts had expected. Adjusted EBITDA was the standout, coming in at about $383 million against forecasts of around $338 million, a beat of roughly 13%. Delivering a profit beat of that size on revenue marginally below expectations indicates the improvement came from the cost side rather than from stronger sales.User numbers were softer. Daily active users reached about 495 million, around 4 million short of the roughly 499 million the market had pencilled in. For a business that relies on advertising, audience growth is closely watched as a guide to future revenue, so even a modest shortfall tends to draw attention.The company guided fourth-quarter revenue to a range of $1.95 billion to $1.99 billion. The $1.97 billion midpoint sits just above estimates near $1.96 billion and implies sequential growth of roughly 13% to 16% from the third quarter, reflecting a seasonally stronger period for advertising.Taken together, the figures point to a company extracting more profit from its existing business while its user base grows more slowly than expected. That margin strength is encouraging, but the slight misses on revenue and users leave the growth story looking less certain.That split is likely to shape how investors read the results. A strong margin performance can support the stock in the near term, yet sustained upside usually depends on evidence that both users and advertising revenue are expanding.The next test will be whether Snap can deliver the upper end of its fourth-quarter range, and whether user growth reaccelerates enough to ease concerns that engagement is levelling off. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.