Facebook bet on mobile ads pays off as earnings jump
Facebook’s bet on mobile advertising seems to be paying off handsomely.
The social network reported profit of $701 million in the three months ended Dec. 31, up $178 million a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter was up 48% to $3.85 billion.
Most of the revenue came from Facebook’s advertising business, which hit $3.59 billion, an increase of 53% year-over-year. Mobile advertising revenue was 69% of total ad revenue, also up from 53% last year.
What the industry calls “engagement” also saw big gains. The social network’s monthly active users totaled 1.39 billion as of Dec. 31, up 13%, while mobile monthly active users were 1.19 billion, up 26%. Facebook-owned apps also reported growth in monthly active users, particularly photo sharing service Instagram (300 million), and mobile messaging services Messenger (500 million) and WhatsApp (700 million).
“We got a lot done in 2014,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. “Our community continues to grow and we’re making progress towards connecting the world.”
