Facebook hits 2.5bn users, shares down over slow growth

San Francisco, Jan 30 (IANS) Facebook stock plunged more than 6 per cent in after-hours trading despite producing better earnings and revenue in the fourth quarter that ended on December 31, 2019.

Facebook reached 2.5 billion monthly users, up 2 per cent from 2.45 billion in Q3 2019., the company announced on Wednesday.

It now has 1.66 billion daily active users, up 2.4 per cent from 1.62 billion last quarter when it grew 2 per cent.

Facebook logged $21.08 billion in revenue — up 25 per cent year-over-year with $2.56 in earnings per share.

But net income was just $7.3 billion, up only 7 per cent (YoY) compared to 61 per cent growth over 2018.

Expenses grew to $12.2 billion for Q4 2019, up 34 per cent from Q4 2018.

“We had a good quarter and a strong end to the year as our community and business continue to grow,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Founder and CEO.

“We remain focused on building services that help people stay connected to those they care about.”

Family daily active people (DAP) was 2.26 billion on average for December 2019, an increase of 11 per cent year-over-year while family monthly active people (MAP) was at 2.89 billion as of December 31, an increase of 9 per cent year-over-year.

Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $54.86 billion.

Facebook employs 44,942 people now, an increase of 26 per cent year-over-year