Facebook is mobile, but investors want more
Commentary: Plans for big spending reminiscent of neighbor Google
new
Jan. 30, 2013, 7:35 p.m. EST
By MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Mark
Zuckerberg kicked off the company’s earnings call on Thursday
proclaiming that the social network “is a mobile company,” but investors
may be more concerned about its spending plans.
Reuters
Earlier in the afternoon, Facebook
FB
+1.46%
reported better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, with 23% of its
advertising revenue coming from mobile. Shares slipped after the report,
however, as some analysts said the numbers may have been below a “blow
out” that some investors were expecting.
Read: Facebook results beat Street, but shares slip.
On the call, Zuckerberg said that 2013 will be a year of “critical
investment” and that it will continue to hire aggressively. Facebook CFO
David Ebersman said that total expenses at Facebook, excluding stock
compensation, will jump by about 50% in 2013.
When one analyst asked about how long the current investment cycle will
last, Ebersman said, “That will moderate over time,” but added that he
did not want to be too specific or miss out on any potential
opportunities.
Facebook results boosted by strong ad sales
Facebook reports better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, but higher costs drag down the social network's profit. MarketWatch's Dan Gallagher and Ben Pimentel report.
In addition, Zuckeberg said that the company’s latest new search
product, called Graph Search, will take time before it starts to
contribute meaningful revenue to Facebook. “Down the line, if we do this
well, this could turn into a meaningful product for us,” Zuckerberg
said.
Investors at least got some answers regarding mobile advertising, but
hearing that Facebook is intensely focused on mobile did not seem to
outweigh some additional concerns, especially concerns that Facebook
could become like Google in the spending department.
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