Wednesday 6 February 2013

Facebook sold $302 million of mobile advertising in Q4 2012

"Facebook reported that its Q4 advertising revenue from mobile doubled on a Q/Q basis to $302m. In terms of the user base, the mobile Monthly Active Users (MAUs) grew 13% Q/Q and 57% Y/Y to 680m. Out of these 680m, almost 23% used Facebook only through the mobile, showing how important mobile has become for Facebook's future strategy. Facebook also informed us that the mobile Daily Active Users (DAUs) exceeded the web DAUs for the first time in Q4 2012, implying that the engagement on the mobile platform is strong. A 100% increase in mobile ad revenue from just 13% growth in mobile MAUs suggests that Facebook is moving in the right direction in finding ways to lever the monetization from mobile users. Zuckerberg told us on the earnings conference call that sponsored stories in the mobile newsfeed and app-install ads were proving to be very effective. Although the growth in mobile MAUs is expected to continue, it will do so at diminishing rates as you can see from the chart above. Therefore Facebook must continue to increase its Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) to ensure that it stays on track for continued revenue growth from mobile. And according to Zuckerberg, making the mobile ads targeted and more relevant would be Facebook's core focus in 2013 which, if successful, should help further improve ARPU."

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