Facebook is having a great financial year, reporting a 79 percent increase in year-over-year profits compared to 2016.
The Silicon Valley social networking giant — and quasi-media company — reported a net income of $4.71 billion USD in its 2017 third-quarter earnings, in comparison to the $2.63 billion USD it reported on September 30, 2016.
According to a November 1st, 2017 media release, the social network also enjoys 1.37 billion daily active users, as well as 2.07 billion monthly active users.
That’s a 16 percent increase in both daily and monthly active users.
Just to put Facebook’s user figures into perspective, the population of China is approximately 1.379 billion, while the population of India is approximately 1.32 billion.
“Our community continues to grow and our business is doing well,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and CEO. “But none of that matters if our services are used in ways that don’t bring people closer. We’re serious about preventing abuse on our platforms. We’re investing so much in security that it will impact our profitability. Protecting our community is more important than maximizing our profits.”
Facebook’s success is shadowed, however, by the ongoing U.S. investigations into Russian election manipulation.
Facebook — as well as other major American social networks and tech companies — are currently involved in U.S. Senate hearings to determine the full extent of Russia’s manipulation of the November 2016 presidential election.
The U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a series of social media posts connected to Russia-linked accounts, highlighting how Russia influenced American opinion through social media.
Facebook stock currently sits at $182.66 USD-per-share (roughly $234.96 CAD).
Source: Facebook
