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State of the Screens

What Headwinds? Facebook Tops Revenue Estimates In Spite Of…Everything

By August 6, 2020November 15th, 2021No Comments

Facebook advertising revenue (YoY growth):
1) 
2015-Q2 – $3.8B
2) 
2016-Q2 – $6.2B (↑ 63%)
3) 2017-Q2 – $9.2B (↑ 47%)
4) 2018-Q2 – $13.0B (↑ 42%)
5) 2019-Q2 – $16.6B (↑ 28%)
6) 2020-Q2 – $18.3B (↑ 10%)


About that boycott: Facebook added $1.7B in quarterly revenue despite 1,000 major brands pausing their advertising!

Big question: Why did the boycott have little impact on revenue growth?

Quick answer: ≈ 6% of advertising revenue for Facebook comes from major brands.

Advertisers on Facebook by year (YoY growth):
1) 2016 – 3M
2) 2017 – 5M (↑ 67%)
3) 2018 – 7M (↑ 40%)
4) 2019 – 8M (↑ 14%)
5) 2020 – 9M (↑ 13%)

Share of Facebook advertisers that joined the boycott:
1) 
Boycott – 1K (0.01%)
2) No boycott – 8.99M (99.99%)

Facebook advertising revenue per user in the U.S. and Canada (YoY growth):
1) 
2015-Q2 – $8.63
2) 
2016-Q2 – $13.74 (↑ 59%)
3) 2017-Q2 – $18.93 (↑ 38%)
4) 2018-Q2 – $25.43 (↑ 34%)
5) 2019-Q2 – $32.60 (↑ 28%)
6) 2020-Q2 – $35.58 (↑ 9%)


Facebook daily active users in the U.S. & Canada (YoY growth):
1) 2015-Q2 – 164M
2) 
2016-Q2 – 175M (↑ 7%)
3) 2017-Q2 – 183M (↑ 5%)
4) 2018-Q2 – 185M (↑ 1%)
5) 2019-Q2 – 187M (↑ 1%)
6) 2020-Q2 – 198M (↑ 6%)

The next target for Facebook everyone: TikTok

Video: A lot of hindsight bias regarding Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram

More #1: ‘Hooked on the Facebook drug’: Media buyers say smaller brands will return to the platform, but bigger brands will continue to boycott

More #2: Facebook Offers Money to Reel In TikTok Creators

More #3: Facebook Faces an Advertiser Boycott. Will Its Business Take a Hit?

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.