Facebook Reports Strong First-Quarter (2018) Earnings

• Facebook revealed its first-quarter earnings earlier today.
• The website has been doing well financially despite several controversies surrounding the platform.
• The social media platform has managed to weather the daily user slump it suffered last year.

Facebook revealed its first-quarter earnings today. The social media platform is doing well amidst all of the controversy surrounding it lately. Facebook added over 49 million new daily active users the past quarter taking the current total user base to 1.45 billion, which is a 3.5% increase over the previous quarter.

The number of active users in the US and Canada has jumped back to 185 million following last year’s historic downturn. The company posted a $12 billion in revenue which is 50% higher than what Facebook posted last year. The company managed to beat metrics set by experts, and despite controversies surrounding the company, the financial well-being of the social media giant is better than ever.

Despite the positive financial outlook, PR Newswire states that it is too early to tell how the Cambridge Analytica scandal has affected Facebook’s business. Facebook’s number of daily users has gone up to 1.45 billion, which is 13% higher than the previous year. They also have 2.2 billion users each month, which is also 13% higher than the previous year. However, the growth rates are poor in comparison to the first quarter growth rates in the past three years.

In 2017, Facebook saw an 18% increase in the user base during the first quarter and a 16% increase in 2016. With the #DeleteFacebook movement trending for quite some time and the scandals Facebook is being associated with gaining steam at the end of the first quarter, the company’s growth rate may have been affected.

Regardless, the social media company seems to be unfazed by the controversies surrounding it while battling for their reputation. The next quarter of 2018 should be able to shed more light on the company's current performance, and we will know if the scandals the brand is being associated with have any impact on the company at all. Mark Zuckerberg stated in November 2017 that he has big plans for the company in 2018 to improve the product and prevent widespread abuse, which could help improve Facebook’s image in the eyes of the people.