Snap Inc.’s share price soared more than 26 percent to as high as $17.80 a share in after-hours trading Tues., Feb. 6 after the Snapchat developer posted revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 that beat stock analysts’ expectations.

The Venice-based company, which released its fourth-quarter earnings report after the market closed, said quarterly revenue of $285.7 million rose more than 72 percent above revenue for the prior, year-ago period. Analysts had expected $252.9 million in revenue for the quarter.

Snap Inc. has suffered a year’s worth of disappointment from Wall Street, whose investors believe the Venice-based company isn’t growing its number of users – and associated advertising revenue – fast enough. Snap’s revenue last year grew about 104 percent to $824.9 million.

The company has also suffered from unfavorable comparisons to Facebook Inc.’s Instagram, which is rapidly expanding and aggressively copying Snapchat’s most-popular features.

Snap’s net loss of 13 cents a share also was more positive by 3 cents a share than analysts’ expectations of a loss of 16 cents a share, according to a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate. Its net loss was about $350 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31.

Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.