FB stock continues to gain momentum after Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) delivered impressive sales and solid user growth in its third quarter. This is an indication that the business is strong amidst growing regulatory scrutiny and reproach regarding its massive influence and reach.
Facebook Users Grew by 35 Million in Q3
The company reported that its user base globally grew by 35 million. This also includes around 3 million users in the North American market that in recent years has seen little growth. The number of users the company added in North America is as many as what it had achieved cumulatively in the last five quarters.
Net income in the third quarter grew by 19% to $6.09 billion or $2.12 per share and topped analyst predictions of a profit of $1.91 per share. Facebook also indicated that the monthly active users on the Facebook app were around 2.45 billion, in line with estimates.
According to COO Sheryl Sandberg, the company is building products that users want to use across the globe. Sandberg added that the Facebook core app was showing impressive growth, even in the US.
FB stock is up 3.85% at $195.52.
Ad Revenue Grew 29%
Facebook’s impressive user growth comes amidst growing scrutiny from regulators and legislators who have stepped up investigations into the social media giant. This also includes antitrust probes from the Federal Trade Commission, the Justice Department, as well as State Attorney Generals. Despite the growing probes, advertisers are still confident with Facebook, and Q3 sales grew 29% to around $17.7 billion.
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The company has indicated that its main growth area is the ads in Facebook Stories as well as ads in the explore section of Instagram. According to Research company EMarketer’s estimates, ad revenue from Instagram will be around $15 billion this year, although the company doesn’t break down results from the segment.
Sandberg stated that despite Stories’ ads growing fast, they are nonetheless cheaper relative to other types of Facebook ads.
FB stock has soared 44% so far this year.
Featured image: DepositPhotos © TarasMalyarevich
