- Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is sliding in early postmarket going, down 4.9%, after a Q4 that easily cleared analysts' bars, but showed the slowest quarterly growth in a few years as its site changes cut time spent on the platform by users.
- User time on site fell by 50M hours per day in Q4, thanks to changes like cracking down on viral videos "to make sure people's time is well spent," says CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
- The year "was a strong year for Facebook, but it was also a hard one," he says. "In 2018, we're focused on making sure Facebook isn't just fun to use, but also good for people's well-being and for society. We're doing this by encouraging meaningful connections between people rather than passive consumption of content."
- Ad revenue jumped 48% to $12.78B, and operating margin increased to 57% from 52%.
- Net income, meanwhile, jumped 20% to $4.27B.
- Operational metrics were in line with expectations: Daily active users in the quarter averaged 1.4B (up 14% Y/Y), and monthly active users hit 2.13B (also up 14%). Mobile ad revenue made up 89% of total ad revenue, up from a prior-year 84%.
- The company had $41.71B in cash, equivalents and marketable securities at quarter's end.
- Conference call to come at 5 p.m. ET.
- Press release
- Now read: Facebook Reports Earnings After Holding Key Pivots On Weakness
Original article