system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:How is Snapchat valued at over $30 billion but they have a loss of $500 million last year?
gpt
A valuation is the total value of all the shares of stock issued, based on the current trading price. The valuation is not based on anything else.

The trading price reflects what investors are willing to pay to own that stock, presumably because they believe their investment will be worth more in the future. Many companies that are not profitable have high valuations. This reflects that the investors have faith in the company _in the long-term_. 

In other words, investors are not buying stock in Snap because of what it did last year; they're buying stock in Snap because of how they believe the company will perform over the coming years.