Facebook’s sales, users jump as pandemic habits persist
MENLO PARK: Facebook Inc.’s first-quarter sales rose 48%, surging past analysts’ estimates thanks to strong demand from retailers and other advertisers seeking to grab attention from the social network’s users.
Revenue climbed to $26.2 billion, the company said Wednesday in a statement. That dwarfed the $23.7 billion average estimate of analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Facebook reported 2.85 billion monthly active users, a rise of 10%. Analysts projected 2.83 billion. Shares jumped more than 6% in late trading.
Menlo Park, California-based Facebook, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, has seen a surge in use of its platforms for at-home entertainment and keeping up with loved ones while people have been stuck in lockdown. Larger advertisers have shifted more of their marketing budgets to social media sites, while small businesses ramped up digital outreach to tap potential customers.
So far, the company hasn’t seen a slowdown even as consumers return to more offline activities as the pandemic begins to subside. The average price per ad rose 30% in the first quarter from a year earlier, Facebook said, and the number of ads delivered notched up 12%.
“The beat was really pronounced in terms of ad pricing,” said Mandeep Singh, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. “They are probably coming towards the tail end of this stretch of high engagement and user growth,” he added, but “the ad pricing tailwinds should persist.”
Its shares, which closed at $307.10 in New York, jumped as high as $328.40 in extended trading following the earnings report. The stock has gained 12% this year, slightly ahead of the increase in the S&P 500 Index.
Net income in the March quarter rose to $9.5 billion, or $3.30 a share, Facebook said. Analysts on average had projected $2.34 in per-share profit.