Facebook’s quarterly sales rose 61% on the strength of mobile advertising, the company said Wednesday.
Sales for the second quarter, which ended 30 June, were $2.91 billion the company reported, beating financial analysts’ estimates of $2.81 billion, as polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue from advertising, which makes up the bulk of Facebook’s sales, was $2.68 billion, up 67% from the same period last year. Of that, 62%, or $1.67 billion, came from ads on mobile devices, a 41% jump from 2013.
Facebook shares were trading at $72.70 soon after the market close, up from a closing price of $71.29.
Net income for the quarter was $791 million, up 138% from $333 million in the same period last year, Facebook reported. Excluding share-based compensation and other expenses, Facebook’s earnings per share was $0.42, blowing away analyst estimates of $0.32.
Facebook had a good second quarter, said CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in the company’s announcement. “Our community has continued to grow, and we see a lot of opportunity ahead as we connect the rest of the world,” the statement said.
Facebook now has 1.32 billion monthly active users, a 14% increase from the same period last year.
Facebook’s ability to make money on mobile was a concern to investors when the company went public in 2012. Since then, it has assuaged those concerns, reporting for the first time earlier this year that it made more than half its sales on mobile.
Facebook is expected to swallow up roughly 22% of the total global mobile ad market this year, according to eMarketer, up from 5% in 2012. Google, one of Facebook’s largest competitors, is expected to take half the market.
IDG News Service
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers