Facebook has reported a powerful surge in profits for the first quarter as its user base continues to increase.
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“We’re focused on our 10-year roadmap to give everyone in the world the power to share anything they want with anyone”, he added. Mobile ads represented roughly 82% of advertising revenue for the first quarter, up from 73% of advertising revenue a year ago. Even more impressive, net income reached $1.51 billion – or 52 cents a share – which was up almost 300% year-over-year. The company said advertising revenue rose 57 percent to $5.2 billion from $3.3 billion in the latest quarter.
Facebook reported a 51.9% increase in revenue when compared to a year ago.
Monthly active users (MAUs) – MAUs were 1.65 billion as of March 31, 2016, an increase of 15% year-over-year.
The social network company proposed a new class of stock, which will be known as C shares. The proposal, which must still be approved by shareholders, is meant to keep Zuckerberg in an active leadership role at Facebook, the company said.
That good news gave Facebook the opportunity to announce what could be a bitter pill for investors to swallow: a plan to issue a new class of non-voting stock that will allow Zuckerberg to maintain control of the company even as he gives his shares away. The proposal still needs to be approved at the annual stockholders meeting scheduled on June 20.
Net income was $1.5 billion versus $512 million a year prior.
Shares shot up about 9% during after-hours trading to $108.89 a piece. Users are also watching nearly three times more videos on Facebook on their phones than they did a year ago.
Other key numbers are that monthly active users touched 1.65 billion, while 1.62 billion were expected.
Facebook founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg has increased his wealth by a healthy $4.7bn, despite taking home just a $1 salary.
If this proposal is approved, it is more than likely that Zuckerberg will remain as the main force behind the social network for a long time, with respect to ownership as well as leadership. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: “We’re focused not on what Facebook is today, but on what it can be, and what it needs to be for our community”. The company’s quarterly revenue climbed more than fifty percent mainly attributed to its extremely popular mobile app. However, one area of concern in this segment was Rest of the World region where average revenue per user fell to $0.91 from $1.10 in last quarter as well as from $0.94 in Q3.
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According to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, the company has been capitalising on a shift to mobile as well as the growing number of marketers using mobile products.
