New Delhi: Facebook has announced its third quarter results. The ad revenue for the social media giant stood at $21.2 billion dollar up by 22 per cent for this quarter. The corresponding figures for the same time in 2019 stood at $17.3 billion.
The total revenue for the quarter also stood at $21.5 billion up by 22 per cent. The corresponding revenue for the same duration in 2019 stood at $17.6 billion.
The net income for the quarter stood at $7.8 billion up by 29 per cent. The corresponding net income for the same duration in 2019 stood at $6.09 billion.
The earnings per share is $2.71 up by 28 per cent. The corresponding earnings in 2019 was $2.12.
Facebook founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "We had a strong quarter as people and businesses continue to rely on our services to stay connected and create economic opportunity during these tough times. We continue to make significant investments in our products and hiring in order to deliver new and meaningful experiences for our community around the world."
The daily active users for FB stood at 1.82 billion on average for September 2020, an increase of 12 per cent year-over-year. The monthly active users were at 2.74 billion as of 30 September 2020, showing an increase of 12 per cent year-over-year. Family daily active people were at 2.54 billion on average for the quarter showing an increase of 15 per cent year-over-year. Family monthly active people (MAP) were at 3.21 billion for the same time showing an increase of 14 per cent year-over-year. Capex including principal payments on finance leases were $3.88 billion for the third quarter of 2020. Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $55.62 billion as of 30 September 2020. Headcount was at 56,653 as of 30 September 2020 witnessing an increase of 32 per cent year-over-year.
The company further stated that it continues to face a significant amount of uncertainty in 2021. Facebook believes that the pandemic has contributed to acceleration in the shift of commerce from offline to online, and the company has experienced increasing demand for advertising as a result of this acceleration. Considering that online commerce is the company’s largest ad vertical, a change in this trend could serve as a headwind to our 2021 ad revenue growth.
Facebook further expects more significant targeting and measurement headwinds in 2021. This includes headwinds from platform changes, notably on Apple iOS 14, as well as those from the evolving regulatory landscape.
There is also continuing uncertainty around the viability of transatlantic data transfers in light of recent European regulatory developments. The social media company is closely monitoring the potential impact on its European operations as these developments progress.
It expects the fourth quarter 2020 year-over-year ad revenue growth rate to be higher than the reported third quarter 2020 rate, driven by continued strong advertiser demand during the holiday season.
