SAN FRANCISCO — Ever since Snap, the maker of the messaging app Snapchat, went public in March, the company has become a closely watched barometer for Silicon Valley and Wall Street.

The technology world is scrutinizing Snap as an indicator of whether smaller social media companies can compete with behemoths like Facebook. And Wall Street is using Snap to gauge whether investors will embrace other unprofitable tech companies if they go public.

Snap has not delivered on either front. Over the past few months, the once-buzzy company has faced a litany of issues. Facebook’s photo-sharing app Instagram, as well other Facebook apps that have copied Snapchat’s main features, have been growing more rapidly than Snapchat. In May, Snap reported disappointing earnings, its first as a public company. Its stock has since plunged well below its $17 public offering price.

Snap will soon face a make-or-break year, said Norm Johnston, the chief strategy officer at Mindshare, a global media agency. “Either it will realize its full potential by delivering growth in daily users, or it will end up as the next Twitter,” the social media service that has been grappling with stalled growth, he said.