LOS ANGELES — Meta has reached a new milestone. According to the tech group’s latest results, Facebook has exceeded three billion monthly active users for the first time.
Reporting its latest results for the second quarter of 2023, Meta shared some figures about Facebook use. Some 27 million new users joined the platform last quarter, and it topped three billion monthly active users for the first time.
According to the graphs presented, it’s the Asia-Pacific region that’s been driving growth, while this it has been stagnating in the USA and falling slightly in Europe. Improving access to technology in certain regions of the world enables Facebook to continue gaining users.
As of June 30, 2023, more than two billion people visited Facebook every day, an increase of 5 per cent over one year. And this momentum can be seen across all the Meta group’s platforms, with 3.88 billion people using at least one of its services (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and/or Messenger) every month. A figure up 6 per cent in one year.
While TikTok and Instagram have supplanted Facebook as the preferred social networks for young people, the app continues to generate impressive revenues.
According to the latest results, Meta reported an 11 per cent increase in revenue to $32 billion compared with the second quarter of 2022. As for Reality Labs, the division in charge of hardware and software relating to augmented reality and the metaverse, it lost $3.7 billion this quarter, and according to estimates, losses could reach $15 billion by the end of the year, more than last year’s $14 billion deficit.
Yet advertising is performing well for Meta, with a 34 per cent increase in the number of advertising impressions, despite a 16 per cent drop in the average ad price. And the launch of Threads has restored Meta’s popularity with younger users.
It remains to be seen whether these positive results will last beyond the current frenzy surrounding its launch, and in the face of stiff competition from TikTok.
“We expect third quarter 2023 total revenue to be in the range of $32-34.5 billion […] We anticipate our full-year 2023 total expenses will be in the range of $88-91 billion, increased from our prior range of $86-90 billion due to legal-related expenses recorded in the second quarter of 2023.
We expect Reality Labs operating losses to increase year-over-year in 2023. While we are not providing a quantitative outlook beyond 2023 at this point, we expect a few factors to be drivers of total expense growth in 2024 as we continue to invest in our most compelling opportunities, including artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse,” Meta’s second quarter 2023 results report states.
