Facebook share price jumps as social network reveals revenue growth of 51.7 per cent as mobile ad revenue rockets
Facebook's stock has risen by almost nine per cent in after hours trading, after the social network unveiled revenue of $5.8bn (£4.1bn) for the three months to the end of December – and $17.9bn for 2015.
This marks a quarterly jump of 51.7 per cent from $3.85bn in the final quarter of 2014, and a significant increase on the $12.47bn posted for the full year.
Earnings per share (EPS) for 2015 hit $0.54, up from $0.25 in 2014.
"2015 was a great year for Facebook. Our community continued to grow and our business is thriving," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and chief exec.
"We continue to invest in better serving our community, building our business, and connecting the world."
Facebook grew advertising revenue by 57 per cent during the last quarter, from $3.59bn to $5.64bn, and mobile advertising contributed around 80 per cent of that total. Mobile advertising revenue made up 69 per cent of total ad revenue in the final quarter of 2014.
The number of daily active users grew to 1.04bn, up from 1.01bn in the third quarter and 890m in the fourth quarter of 2014. The number of daily active users on mobile hit 934m in the quarter, up from 745m in the preceding year.
Read more: Facebook earnings show mobile accounts for 75 per cent of revenue in first quarter
"You can see the momentum they have got," said Norm Johnston, global chief strategy & digital officer for WPP’s Mindshare.
"They are just dominating mobile. And they've really pivoted from the desk top experience of a few years ago to a mobile experience. All that hard work is paying off for them now."
Johnston told City PM that Facebook had made a "genius" move in buying WhatsApp and Instagram, making their proposition to advertisers "incredibly attractive".
He added: "They still have lots of room to grow. They have only just begun to monetise Instagram and there's clearly more scope for monetisation."
The only potential roadblocks for Facebook, according to Johnston, would be if two of its competitors were to combine with a merger or acquisition: "Google would have to buy Twitter."
Facebook's latest results have pushed it further beyond Twitter, which is struggling to maintain revenue growth momentum. The social network is also seeing a slowdown in user number growth, and its share price recently fell to record lows of below $17. Facebook's stock was up to $106 in after hours trading.