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Barely anyone signed up to Facebook in second quarter
Facebook reported Wednesday it had 2.23 billion monthly users as of June 30, up 11 percent from a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting 2.25 billion, according to FactSet.
User growth — both on a monthly and daily basis — was flat in the U.S. and the rest of North America, while it declined slightly in Europe.
Facebook has largely saturated in the U.S. and Western European markets, and is now looking to countries such as Brazil, India and Indonesia for new users.
Revenue from these regions, however, is far below what Facebook rakes in from the U.S. and Europe.
The company earned US$5.1 billion, or US$1.74 per share, up 31 percent and above analysts’ estimates of US$1.71.
But revenue — up 42 percent to US$13.23 billion— was slightly below the US$13.34 that Wall Street was expecting.
Facebook said the European privacy rules, called General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, did not have a big effect on the quarter’s revenue, but also noted that they were only in effect for about a month before the quarter ended.
Over the long term, GDPR may end up favoring Facebook and other large companies that have the resources to adapt to new requirements.
They could similarly disadvantage smaller, lesser known companies that don’t have the resources to comply and which could face big fines if they do not.
Source: AP