How Growth In Asia Helped Facebook Crush Earnings Estimates

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) beat both earnings and revenue expectations when it reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The company also grew both its daily and monthly active users by 14% year-over-year.

Shares of Facebook gained more than 4% in morning trading hours Thursday. Investors seem confident in Facebook, despite users cutting down time spent on the social network (also read: Facebook Posts Q4 Earnings & Revenue Beats, MAUs Gain 14%).

One reason faith in Facebook is still high, amid controversy surrounding its policing of fake news, might be due to its continued growth in the Asia-Pacific region. Going forward, this geographic area is likely to prove hugely important.

In the fourth quarter, Facebook topped our revenue projections for the Asia-Pacific region after sales soared 52.63% year-over-year to $2.059 billion. Our estimates, which are based on our exclusive non-financial metrics estimate file, called for revenues of $2.040 billion.

This growth was driven in large part by substantial user growth. Facebook grew its DAUs in the Asia-Pacific region by 26% year-over-year, closing the quarter with 499 million. Sequentially, the region expanded by 23 million DAUs. Both of these gains were by far the largest out of all four regions Facebook tracks, outpacing results in the U.S. & Canada, Europe, and the Rest of World.

The social media powerhouse also saw its monthly user base surge by 23% in Asia. Facebook ended fiscal 2016 with 673 million MAUs in the Asia-Pacific area and closed Q4 2017 with 828 million. This is the largest single region for Facebook users, with the Rest of World coming in second with 692 million monthly active users.

Facebook and its investors should be encouraged by this large growth in a region that boasts quickly growing, large economies that are also adding new internet users every day. What’s more, the region claims the world’s two largest countries by population—China and India—which are also home to a new expanding middle class.

What’s more, the social media giant’s growth in the region doesn’t even take into account Instagram or WhatsApp users.

The Asia-Pacific region is still lagging far behind in terms of revenue generation. But this could change in the coming years if advertisers in the area begin to view Facebook like many currently do in North America and Europe.

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