In the first quarter of 2014, the ever-popular social networking site Facebook reported $642 million in profits. Prior to the release of the numbers, analysts were expecting a 60% sales growth; however, Facebook grew overall by 72% and its advertising revenue grew by 82%. With respect to advertising revenue, Facebook’s mobile advertising revenue is taking an increasingly important role as it generated a full 59% of the advertising revenue whereas mobile advertising revenue only accounted for 30% of Facebook’s advertising revenue in the quarter one year earlier.
“Facebook’s business is strong and growing, and this quarter was a great start to 2014,” stated Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “We’ve made some long term bets on the future while staying focused on executing and improving our core products and business. We’re in a great position to continue making progress towards our mission.”
Facebook Continues to Grow
Additionally, the number of people actively using Facebook on a daily basis is continuing to grow. In fact, it grew to over 800 million users or an increase of 21%. Moreover, the number of people actively using Facebook mobile grew to about 600 million or 43%.
Recently, in an effort to increase Facebook mobile advertising, the tech company expanded its mobile offerings. For instance, Facebook implemented the popular Facebook Messenger service and the news app Paper. Additionally, Facebook has more recently agreed to purchase the WhatsApp text messaging software for $19 billion. Further, Facebook of course acquired Instagram in 2012.
Facebook In the Future
The marketing firm eMarketer stated that Facebook’s 2013 advertising revenues increased to $119.8 billion or just over 14.5%. Moreover, as mobile devices become more popular, the spending on digital and mobile advertising is expected to substantially increase. With this type of information, investors can certainly be optimistic. After all, Facebook’s future advertising revenues are certainly looking bright.
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