Facebook Third Quarter 2012 Revenue Results - Reports a Loss of $59 Million

Ever since it went public, the going has been tough for Facebook. Once the darling of the online community and entrepreneurs, it has now been reduced to an example which tech startups to avoid.

With so much negativity going around, and not to mention the falling stock prices, Facebook had to come up with some thing that reinstated the faith once people had in Menlo Park.

The announcement it made few weeks back that it now has 1 billion monthly users did generate some positive vibes, but the Q3 report released today will go a long way in boosting the faith of investors in Facebook, for it has beaten the expectations of the market by a healthy margin.

Yes, it has incurred a loss of $59 million, but there are several positives to be gained from the revenue report. Here's a breakdown of Facebook's 3rd Quarter Revenue Report:

• Monthly Active Users: 1.007 billion
• Daily Active Users: 584 million
• Monthly Active Mobile Users: 604 million
• Total Revenue: $ 1.262 billion, compared to $954 million same time last year (26% year-to-year growth)
• Total Costs and Expenses: $885 million
• Provision from Income Taxes: $431 million
• Interest and other expenses: $5 million
• Net loss: $59 million

All the above revenue stats are in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which includes share-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses.

Facebook ends with a profit of $311 millions if one doesn't take GAAP into account.

Takeaways for Marketers/Brand Managers/Developers:

1. 86% of Facebook's revenue was from advertisements. This can be attributed to the increase in ad offerings Facebook has provided such as: Custom Audiences, Facebook Exchange, Offers, and mobile app install ads. You might want to give them a try.
2. With more than 600 millions users accessing Facebook through their mobile devices, Facebook has moved from a desktop-first company to mobile-first. It has generated 14% of it's total revenue.
3. If you are an app developer or a brand relying heavily on apps for your marketing, it's time you made them mobile compatible.
4. Also, in the announcement, Zuckerberg has mentioned that mobile users have a better engagement rates than desktop users. And with their new offerings, this engagement can only increase.
5. 1 billion users. Nuff said.

Image courtesy: donkeyhotey