Reddit shares drop 11% on weak forecast and mandatory login test as Google traffic falls

Reddit shares fell over 11% after the company issued weak fourth-quarter sales guidance and announced plans to require all users to create accounts, a major shift for the platform. The move comes as Google search referral traffic declines. Reddit beat third-quarter estimates with earnings of $1.40 per share and revenue of $895 million, but projected Q4 sales of $1 billion to $1.03 billion, below Wall Street's $1.05 billion forecast. CEO Steve Huffman cited Google's AI-driven changes as a "fundamental shift" reducing referral traffic, prompting the login requirement to boost monetization of registered users. Daily active uniques rose 12% year-over-year to 130.3 million, missing estimates, while U.S. users fell 2%. Testing for the registration change begins in Q4 outside the U.S., with details on logged-out access still undecided. Reddit is also negotiating its data-licensing deal with Google.