Facebook is already confident again in Corona crisis
In the midst of the Corona crisis, Facebook is giving hope that the bottom has already been reached. Advertising spending in the first three weeks of April showed signs of stabilizing, the world's largest Internet network announced on Wednesday after the U.S. stock exchange closed.
Advertising spend would have been roughly in line with the previous year. Facebook shares jumped 9 percent in after-hours trading.
In the first quarter of 2020 - especially in March - the frozen advertising budgets were still noticeable. Travel companies, restaurant chains and retailers in particular refrained from advertising in view of global travel warnings and closed stores.
Revenue, which consists mainly of advertising income, increased by 18 percent in the first quarter to around 17.7 billion dollars (17.2 billion Swiss francs). In the previous quarter, growth had still been 25 percent. However, analysts had on average expected lower revenues in the first three months. Google had also recently exceeded expectations.
Due to the uncertainties in connection with the Corona crisis, the U.S. group does not provide an outlook for the current quarter or for the full year. However, Facebook wants to spend a little less than planned: In addition to less travel, job creation is now to take place somewhat more slowly.
The group, which also includes WhatsApp and Instagram, now has 2.6 billion monthly active users, or around one-third of the world's population. Only recently, the company expanded its foothold in India with a stake in the digital division of the Indian Reliance conglomerate for $5.7 billion. (SDA)
