Does Facebook Have A Conscience?

Photo Credit: Marco Paköeningrat/Flickr.com

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) recently celebrated its fourteenth anniversary amid much controversy. While it continues to outpace market expectations on all financial fronts, the social pressure on the company is mounting. Several groups and leaders have come forward demanding that tech companies like Facebook do something about the growing tech addiction that is plaguing the youth of today. In fact, not just youth. Facebook addiction is a pervasive phenomenon in modern society, and not a healthy one. Facebook has become the modern-day cigarette.

Facebook’s Financials

Facebook’s Q4 revenues grew 47% over the year to $13 billion, ahead of the market’s estimates of $12.6 billion. EPS of $1.44 was hurt by a tax charge because of the new tax code. Facebook recorded a tax charge of $3.2 billion. Without the tax charge, its EPS would have been $2.21, above the Street forecast of $1.95.

By segment, advertising revenues grew 48% over the year to $12.8 billion, ahead of the market’s forecast of $12.4 billion. Mobile advertising accounted for 89% of its ad revenues compared with 84% a year ago. Revenues from payments and other fees fell 6% to $193 million.

Among operating metrics, Facebook’s monthly active users came in line with the market expectations at 2.13 billion. Daily active users for the service came in lower at 1.40 billion, compared with the market projections of 1.41 billion and 1.37 billion a quarter ago. But this was the first-ever quarter that Facebook reported a decline in daily-active users in the United States and Canada, as it fell from 185 million to 184 million. During the quarter, the company said its users spent 50 million hours less per day. This may well be the beginning of a trend, as users start to de-program themselves from the addiction.

Average revenue per user for Facebook rose an impressive 35% over the year in the United States and Canada to $26.76.