The recent criticism wave surrounding data privacy has not put a dent in the progress of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) because the social media giant has managed to beat Wall Street’s $11.41 billion revenue estimate in its Q1 2018 earnings report by generating $11.97 billion in revenue with a $1.69 EPS compared to the $1.35 estimate in the last quarter.
In addition, the company managed to add several million active users compared to the last quarter, although the last quarter saw a higher percentage of users added. It is safe to say that Facebook’s troubles in recent weeks has not stunted its growth from any angle.
Related Facebook Tries to Share Details of What Exactly Advertisers Know About You
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) Share Price Put Under a Lot of Pressure Thanks to Latest Scandal – Company Has Increased Amount Under the Share Repurchase Program by an Additional $9 Billion
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) had added 48 million daily active users to hit the 1.449 billion mark, up 3.42 percent to revive the company’s slower 2.18 percent growth last quarter. However, the tech giant only managed to add 70 million monthly active users to reach 2.196 billion, which is a 3.14 percent growth rate, marking a slower growth as compared to the last quarter’s 3.39 percent growth. Still, daily and monthly user metrics are up 13 percent year-over-year, revealing that despite the privacy saga, Facebook’s growth has now slowed.
This quarter, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) faced intense criticism concerning the Cambridge Analytica scandal and its data privacy practices, which resulted in a massive pull-back of developer capabilities. In the end, CEO Mark Zuckerberg had to testify before congress.
Related FTC and PwC’s 2017 Privacy Audit of Facebook Failed to Catch Cambridge Analytica
Zuckerberg wrote that the company is taking more measures to ensure that Facebook’s services are used for better purposes.
“Despite facing important challenges, our community and business are off to a strong start in 2018. We are taking a broader view of our responsibility and investing to make sure our services are used for good. But we also need to keep building new tools to help people connect, strengthen our communities, and bring the world closer together.”
In terms of revenue breakup, mobile generated the highest amount with $10.7 billion, which is 91 percent of all ad revenue, and up from 89 percent last quarter. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) milked in $4.98 billion in profit, resulting an increase from $4.26 billion last quarter.
The recent scandal has certainly put extreme pressure on the company’s share price, but it still thinks it is a worthy buy. As a result, it has increased amount authorized under a share repurchase program by an additional $9 billion, on top of an original $6 billion plan.
