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| Facebook revenue surges 60% on strong ad sales | Facebook revenue surges 60% on strong ad sales |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Social network giant Facebook reported a 60% surge in revenue, to $2.02bn (£1.26bn), in the third quarter. | |
| Revenue from advertising grew by 66% to $1.8bn, with nearly half of that coming from mobile ads. | Revenue from advertising grew by 66% to $1.8bn, with nearly half of that coming from mobile ads. |
| "The strong results we achieved this quarter show that we're prepared for the next phase of our company," said Mark Zuckerberg in a statement. | "The strong results we achieved this quarter show that we're prepared for the next phase of our company," said Mark Zuckerberg in a statement. |
| Shares initially rose, but fell back after a suggestion that activity in younger teens was down. | |
| The increase in revenue led to $425m in net profit in the three months to September. That compares to a loss of $59m in the same period last year. | |
| Initially, Facebook's shares surged 15% on the news, but then fell back after the chief financial officer, David Ebersman, said in a conference call that internal analytics suggested that fewer "younger teens" were using the site. | |
| "Our best analytics shows use by US teens overall stable, but a decrease in use by younger teens," said Mr Ebersman. | |
| However, he cautioned that it was tricky to measure young people's engagement, as the age entered by a user on the site was not verified. | |
| "That market is incredibly fickle," said Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle. "You don't want to see a trend that kids no longer think Facebook is no longer the place to be; that it is now their dads' service." | |
| "The kids are Facebook's seed corn, and you don't want to lose that." he added. | |
| Mobile push | Mobile push |
| Shares in the company have nearly doubled in value since July, when it first announced a big jump in its mobile advertising revenue. | |
| The company has made a concerted push to boost its mobile offering, and now says that 874 million of the site's more than one billion users access Facebook on their phone. | The company has made a concerted push to boost its mobile offering, and now says that 874 million of the site's more than one billion users access Facebook on their phone. |
| Speaking during a conference call, Mr Zuckerburg called Facebook a "mobile company" and noted more than half of people are only using Facebook from their phones. | Speaking during a conference call, Mr Zuckerburg called Facebook a "mobile company" and noted more than half of people are only using Facebook from their phones. |
| "It's a pretty incredible sign of how Facebook has evolved as a company," he said. | "It's a pretty incredible sign of how Facebook has evolved as a company," he said. |
| By growing its mobile users, the company has also been able to sell more mobile ads, a crucial metric that is widely watched by analysts. | By growing its mobile users, the company has also been able to sell more mobile ads, a crucial metric that is widely watched by analysts. |
| Facebook has grown its share of the mobile ad market in the US from just 9% last year to 14.9% this year, according to research firm eMarketer. | Facebook has grown its share of the mobile ad market in the US from just 9% last year to 14.9% this year, according to research firm eMarketer. |
| But Google is still by far the leader, accounting for close to half of all mobile ad spending in the US. | But Google is still by far the leader, accounting for close to half of all mobile ad spending in the US. |
| Revenue from mobile ads was around $880m this quarter, compared to just $150m a year earlier. | Revenue from mobile ads was around $880m this quarter, compared to just $150m a year earlier. |
| However, Facebook's user growth in the US and Canada appears to have slowed dramatically. | However, Facebook's user growth in the US and Canada appears to have slowed dramatically. |
| This is significant as the site earns about $4.19 for each user in the US and Canada, compared to just $0.74 for users in high-growth areas such as Asia. | This is significant as the site earns about $4.19 for each user in the US and Canada, compared to just $0.74 for users in high-growth areas such as Asia. |