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Facebook beats Wall Street estimates despite pandemic and boycott

Photo: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

Facebook's stock was up more than 6% in after-hours trading on Thursday, after the tech giant reported strong revenue growth, despite a global ad slowdown due to the pandemic and a growing advertiser boycott.

Why it matters: Facebook's ability to beat top and bottom line revenue expectations amid the coronavirus crisis and the boycott speaks to the strength of the company's appeal to marketers despite serious challenges.

Yes, but: The company wasn't totally immune to the headwinds facing the ad market. While it reported strong user engagement numbers as people have been stranded at home, it also experienced its slowest quarter for advertising growth (up 11%) since going public in 2012.

The big picture: The report comes on the heels of Wednesday's historic antitrust hearing in which CEO Mark Zuckerberg, along with executives of other tech giants, answered questions about their market dominance and business practices.

By the numbers, per CNBC:

  • Earnings: $1.80 vs. $1.39 per share forecast by Refinitv
  • Revenue: $18.7 billion vs. $17.4 billion forecast by Refinitiv
  • Daily active users (DAUs):  1.79 billion vs. 1.7 billion forecast by FactSet
  • Monthly active users (MAUs):  2.7 billion vs. 2.6 billion forecast by FactSet

What's next: The company says it expects that as shelter-in-place restrictions continue to ease, the number of Facebook users will likely be "flat or slightly down in most regions" in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter of the year.

Go deeper:

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Kia Kokalitcheva
Nov 6, 2020 - Technology

Uber CEO talks exporting Prop 22 after mixed earnings report

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Uber is looking to export to other states California's newly voter-approved policy that will let the company continue to treat its drivers as contractors and not employees, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on an analyst call after the company posted mixed third-quarter results Thursday.

The big picture: Uber and Lyft helped lead a $200 million campaign to convince Californians to vote for Proposition 22, which they did overwhelmingly Tuesday. Uber now wants to "have dialog with governments and other states" on enacting similar arrangements, Khosrowshahi said.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Ashley Gold
Nov 5, 2020 - Technology

Facebook groups are turning into election disinformation vectors

Screenshot: German Marshall Fund

Public and private Facebook groups are becoming vectors of disinformation about ballot counting, as the results of the presidential race remain unclear and states finish tallying votes under individual state laws and timelines.

Driving the news: Facebook took down a public group called "Stop the Steal" that quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of members Thursday. Yet conspiracy theories and false claims continue to circulate widely in other groups, including private ones predating the election that have been repurposed as disinformation repositories.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Scott Rosenberg
Nov 6, 2020 - Technology

How the razor-edge election could scar tech

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The 2020 election outcome presents Facebook, Twitter and other online platforms with a worst-case scenario for misinformation management even as it takes some of the regulatory pressure off the wider tech industry.

Why it matters: Aggravated red state/blue state grievances look to usher in an open-ended era of partisan trench warfare online — but a split Congress shrinks the likelihood of new laws reining in tech's power.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow