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Facebook shrugged off an intense 3 months period to post growth in revenue, margins and its total number of users
Facebook has posted a strong set of financials for the first quarter of 2018, providing a much-needed shot in the arm for the social media giant.
Facebook saw $27 billion wiped off the value of its share price in Q1 2018 (roughly 5 per cent of the company’s value), as the firm found itself embroiled in a data mishandling scandal involving research firm Cambridge Analytica.
However, Facebook’s share price has edged back up following the release of the company’s Q1 financial report.
"Despite facing important challenges, our community and business are off to a strong start in 2018," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO.
"We are taking a broader view of our responsibility and investing to make sure our services are used for good. But we also need to keep building new tools to help people connect, strengthen our communities, and bring the world closer together."
Advertising revenues surged by a whopping 50 per cent on a year on year basis, to $11.795 billion, adding a sliver of credence to Zuckerberg’s recent assertion to the US Senate that Facebook made the bulk of its revenue through running advertising (when asked by Senator Orrin Hatch how Facebook sustained its business model, Zuckerberg infamously replied "Senator, we run ads").
Facebook also increased its number of daily active users to 1.45 billion during the first quarter of 2018, a boost of 13 per cent on Q1 2017’s figures.
While Facebook’s figures for the period appear robust, the firm might still expect to see the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica saga hit in its Q2 financial reporting period, as the reaction from key advertisers begins to trickle through. Despite this possibility, Facebook will be pleased that it is continuing to see growth in nearly all of its key strategic areas.
