By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 23rd, 2024
Analysts predict Facebook has seen its year-over-year earnings grow on higher revenues for the first fiscal quarter of this year that ended in March. Therefore, FB stock is rising.
On April 29, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) will join other public companies and reveal its first-quarter 2020 results. Facebook earnings are expected to grow, therefore, amid the Q1 2020 report, Facebook shares are rising.
Yesterday, Facebook (FB) stock soared by 6.72% and closed at $182.28 per share. After hours, it slightly dropped by 0.15% to $182.00. But in pre-market today, FB stock is up again. At the moment of writing, it is trading at $183.48, or 0.66% up. Facebook stock price is still far from the all-time closing high of $223.23 on January 29, 2020, but if the company’s performance lives up to analysts’ expectations, there are chances to even surpass this mark.
Facebook Q1 Earnings: What to Expect
Analysts predict Facebook has seen its year-over-year earnings grow on higher revenues for the first fiscal quarter of this year that ended in March. Zacks Consensus research firm expects Facebook’s revenues to total $17.42 billion, which is lower than $21.08 billion during the fourth quarter of 2019 but 15.6% up from the year-ago quarter.
Further, Facebook is expected to report quarterly earnings of $1.78 per share, which marks a year-over-year change of +109.4%. In comparison, in Q4 2019, the social networking company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS).
Notably, in the first quarter, Facebook along with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) became the leader in lobbying spend. Facebook increased spending by 19% from last quarter to $5.3 million, while Amazon spent 3% more than the previous quarter at $4.3 million.
Facebook’s Lapses and Developments
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Facebook has seen a significant weakening of its ad business, especially in countries most affected by COVID-19. Therefore, the social media giant has slightly changed its ad products and targeting. In particular, Facebook has added several tools to give users more control over their ad experience. These tools include an option to stop seeing ads based on the advertiser’s Custom Audience lists. Besides, Facebook backed off plans to launch ads in WhatsApp.
At the beginning of April, Facebook released a new app for couples. Called Tuned, it allows couples to send messages, exchange music, and create a digital scrapbook. For now, the app is available for download only in the U.S. and Canada.
Further, Facebook introduced a new gaming app to compete with Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) YouTube, Amazon’s Twitch, and Microsoft Corporation‘s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Mixer. The app is mainly focused on watching and making game live streams, which is possible due to a function called “Go Live”. Besides, it includes casual games and provides access to gaining communities. Currently, it is available for Android users. After Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) approves the app, it will be available on iOS.
Recently, Facebook invested $5.7 billion to Indian internet giant Jio Platforms, buying a 10% stake and becoming its largest minority shareholder. The aim of the deal is to create “new ways for people and businesses to operate more effectively in the growing digital economy.”