Facebook reported better than expected third quarter revenue of $US21.47billion, up 22%.
Daily active users (DAUs) were 1.82 billion on average for September 2020, an increase of 12% year-over-year.
And the December quarter is expected to be better. Facebook says fourth quarter year-over-year ad revenue growth rate will be higher than the September quarter, driven by continued strong advertiser demand during the holiday season.
"We had a strong quarter as people and businesses continue to rely on our services to stay connected and create economic opportunity during these tough times," says Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO.
"We continue to make signicant investments in our products and hiring in order to deliver new and meaningful experiences for our community around the world."
The company says the pandemic has contributed to an acceleration in the shift of commerce to online, meaning increasing demand for advertising on Facebook.
eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson says Facebook, despite its challenges with election turmoil and content moderation, remains a go-to for advertisers seeking to engage a broad base of consumers
"Facebook has rebounded nicely from both the early-pandemic advertiser pullout, when marketers pulled ads across all media to redo messaging or conserve funds, and from the July ad boycott," she says.
"Looking ahead to 2021, we expect that more advertisers will take a hard look at their reliance on Facebook and will ask themselves whether the environment is safe for their brands.
"But for now, heading into the all important holiday season, Facebook's financials look very strong."
According to eMarketer's October 2020 forecast, Facebook is on track to earn $US78.95 billion in net global ad revenue in 2020, controlling an increasing 23.2% of the worldwide digital ad market. Google is the world's number one digital ad publisher with a 29% share.
Facebook's worldwide mobile share will grow 30.6% in 2020, generating $US75.24 billion.
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