Facebook smashes revenue estimates but warns Apple change could hobble growth
Facebook's total revenue rose to $26.17B in the first quarter
Cloud business fuels earnings for big tech
Windows Central Executive Editor Daniel Rubino and Global X Funds SVP Jay Jacobs discuss cloud business growing under big tech.
Facebook Inc beat Wall Street expectations for both quarterly revenue and profit on Wednesday but warned that growth later this year could "significantly" decline as new Apple Inc privacy policies will make it more difficult to target ads.
The company's shares were up 5% in extended trading.
GOOGLE SMASHES SALES RECORDS AS DIGITAL ADVERTISING MARKET BOOMS
The world’s largest social network has blasted Apple over its requirement that iPhone app developers begin asking users’ permission to collect certain data for ads, saying the change would harm its business and hurt small companies that rely on personalized advertising.
At the same time, it has built shopping and e-commerce features within Facebook and Instagram, which are expected to bring additional revenue to the company and make its ad inventory more valuable.
Total revenue, which primarily consists of ad sales, rose to $26.17 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, beating analysts' average estimate of $23.67 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Facebook had previously cautioned investors that the iPhone changes could lead to a slowdown in growth.
Monthly active users on Facebook rose 10% to 2.85 billion, matching analyst expectations.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Net income for the first quarter came in at $9.5 billion, or $3.30 per share, compared with $4.9 billion, or $1.71 per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of $2.37 per share.
Facebook said its total expenses for the year would be in the range of $70 billion to $73 billion, as it invests in consumer hardware products like Oculus virtual reality headsets and infrastructure.