2Q results soar as user base also increases
By Barbara Ortutay, Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Facebook is attracting advertising dollars to where its users are — on mobile devices.
The world's largest online social network surpassed expectations on all fronts in the second quarter. It grew not just profit and revenue, but also its already-massive user base and mobile advertising, as well as usage of its "family" of non-Facebook apps like Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Even so, its stock price slid after the quarterly results came out, as expenses soared 82 percent and cut into earnings. Some investors may have been waiting for even better results, or looking to cash in profits with Facebook's shares trading near record highs.
Facebook said Wednesday that it had 1.31 billion people visiting from a mobile device at least once a month, on average, during the quarter. That was up 23 percent from a year earlier.
Facebook had 1.49 billion monthly users overall, up 13 percent. It also had 968 million daily active users overall and 844 million on mobile devices.
"Once again Facebook has proven its ability to attract and retain users," said Forrester Research analyst Nate Elliott. "It's particularly impressive that users are more engaged than ever before — that the percentage of monthly users who visit every day continues to grow."
That's in contrast to Twitter, which continues to worry investors with stalling user growth and on Wednesday saw its stock price drop to its lowest level in more than a year.
Facebook's mobile advertising represented 76 percent of the total advertising revenue during the second quarter, proof that the company continues to attract advertisers to where its users are — on smartphones and other hand-held gadgets. That's up from 62 percent a year earlier.
While still far behind No. 1 Google Inc., Facebook has been steadily growing its share of the worldwide digital advertising market. Its share was 7.9 percent in 2014, up from 5.8 percent a year earlier, according to research firm eMarketer. By the end of this year, eMarketer expects Facebook's share to surpass 9 percent of the $171 billion market. Google, meanwhile, is expected to hold on to its top post with about 31 percent of the market, down slightly from last year.
In all, Menlo Park, California-based Facebook Inc.'s second-quarter net income was $715 million, or 25 cents per share. That's down from $788 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding special expenses such as stock compensation costs, Facebook earned 50 cents per share in the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of 47 cents, as polled by Zacks Investment Research.
Expenses rose 82 percent to $2.77 billion from $1.52 billion. Facebook said costs related to last year's $19 billion WhatsApp acquisition, as well as hiring new employees, contributed to the quarter's higher spending.
Facebook ended the quarter with 10,955 employees, up 52 percent form a year earlier. The majority of new hires were in research and development, as the 11-year-old company continues to set its sights on the next decade and beyond.
Revenue jumped 39 percent to $4.04 billion from $2.91 billion, squeaking past analysts' expectations of $3.99 billion.
Facebook's shares fell $3.24, or 3.3 percent, to $93.75 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed up $1.70 at $96.99, up more than 24 percent for the year.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More