Facebook shares fell 24% after the company said it didn't expect revenue growth as it "puts privacy first" and reimagines its product.
The strong reaction from Wall Street followed an earnings report that showed slower-than-expected growth in users and advertising revenue. Total revenue reached $13.2 billion for the quarter, up 42% year-over-year but below Wall Street estimates. As a result, the social network's shareholders lost about $150 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg lost his $17 billion.
The earnings report gave a clear picture of how the Cambridge Analytica fiasco affected the business. News that the data of 87 million Facebook users had been accessed by a third party without their permission exploded online in the final weeks of the first quarter. Following the scandal, the company intends to invest billions of dollars a year increasing security.
Facebook CFO David Wechner said sales growth could slow as the company prioritizes new formats such as Stories and offers users "more privacy choices."
Also, the social network added during the quarter, according to the report. 22 million active users globally. At the same time, Facebook has stalled or even shrunk in some of its most mature markets. The number of daily users remained flat in the United States and Canada and declined in Europe. This is partly due to the introduction of new EU data protection rules.
Even though the company predicted slower sales growth, Facebook included new numbers in the report to remind investors of its massive audience: 2.5 billion people used at least one of Facebook's apps last month (including Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook).
Facebook also celebrated the success of three new apps, highlighting Stories, a format created by Snapchat. But the main benefit is always expected due to the growth of advertising sales. And the main question is whether new applications will monetize at the same speed as News Feed...
Despite the sharp decline in shares, Facebook still has unprecedented scale and the best advertising technique in the industry, according to experts. In the short term, Facebook remains viable, and all changes are focused on a long-term strategy.
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