What happened
Shares of Facebook (META -10.56%) gained 27.3% in the first half of 2021, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The social media company's stock continued to scale new all-time highs, accompanied by a set of sturdy earnings.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Facebook reported blowout earnings for its fiscal 2021 first quarter, with revenue climbing 47.6% year over year to $26.2 billion and net income surging by 93.7% year over year to $9.5 billion. The average price per advertisement increased by 30% year over year, and the social media company also delivered a 12% year-over-year increase in the number of ads. The figures prove that Facebook is still able to chalk up strong growth despite the outbreak of the pandemic.
Daily average users (DAUs) and monthly average users (MAUs) continued to climb. DAUs ended the quarter at 1.9 billion, up 8.3% year over year, while MAUs stood at 2.9 billion, chalking up 9.6% year-over-year growth. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has detailed improvements made to endear more users to Facebook's platform, such as the inclusion of a tool for people to subscribe to services such as boxing and dancing using virtual reality. The company is also boosting its infrastructure to support increased payments, while numerous businesses are using WhatsApp business-application user interfaces to send messages to potential customers.
Now what
Facebook is planning an even larger investment to rival the growing influence of TikTok, an increasingly popular app that features short-form videos. The company will spend $1 billion on social media creators up till the end of next year to generate exclusive content to keep its users engaged. Content creators are paid by invitation only, and the company will offer bonus programs if these creators hit certain milestones.
