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Business

Zuckerberg remains confident about Facebook’s long-term success

By
Nicolas Vega
Published Jan. 31, 2018, 10:37 p.m. ET

Mark Zuckerberg said 2018 was the year to fix what was wrong with Facebook — and Wall Street on Wednesday seemed to be focused more on the social network’s woes than its soaring growth and profits.

Facebook reported fourth-quarter results that handily beat expectations — but investors responded warily to the news that the time users spent on the site fell by 50 million hours a day during the quarter.

“We made changes to show fewer viral videos to make sure people’s time is well spent,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.

“By focusing on meaningful connections, our community and business will be stronger over the long term,” the Facebook chief executive said.

The 50-million figure seemed to have spooked investors, as shares in after-hours trading dipped almost 5 percent.

But after Zuckerberg and other executives — on a conference call to elaborate on results — said the company expected to maintain its rapid growth rate, investors piled back into the stock.

Shares in the after-market then reversed course and were up 1.2 percent at 7:15 p.m.

More people than ever are using Facebook, with the company reporting 1.4 billion daily active users and 2.13 billion monthly active users, up from 1.37 billion and 2.07 billion last quarter, respectively.

The Silicon company’s revenue also blew past expectations, clocking in at $12.97 billion versus Wall Street’s $12.55 billion estimate.

Facebook also topped profit expectations, reporting $2.21 a share compared with the forecast $1.95 a share.

In his earnings call, Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook’s “Stories” feature is surpassing posts as the best method for sharing on the social network.

It has been a rough quarter for Facebook in the public eye. Not only has it been grappling with its role in spreading misinformation during the 2016 election, but it also had to come to grips with the very nature of its existence.

In November, Facebook’s ex-president, Sean Parker, criticized his former employer, admitting he is “something of a conscientious objector” to the social-networking giant.

Parker told Axios that Facebook is designed to exploit “a vulnerability in human psychology” to get users addicted.

“The thought process that went into building these applications, Facebook being the first of them … was all about: ‘How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?’ ” he said.

Another former executive, Chamath Palihapitiya, who joined Facebook in 2007 and later became its vice president for user growth, said that he and the company’s founders “have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works.”

Palihapitiya added that he feels “tremendous guilt” for the impact Facebook has had on the world, and said that his kids don’t have profiles on the social network.

“They’re not allowed to use this s–t,” he said.

At Wednesday’s close, Facebook shares were up 5.9 percent his year, to $186.89.