Facebook, which saw a 56% increase in profits in the second quarter, “Focus on Metaverse”

Facebook announced its Q2 earnings on July 28 (local time). According to the financial report, sales from April to June grew 56% year-on-year to reach $29.1 billion, the fastest growth since 2016, but is expected to decline sharply in the aftermath of regulations and review of Apple’s privacy policy

According to the second quarter financial results announced by Facebook, ad unit price increased by 47% compared to the same period of the previous year, and the number of advertisements was also increased by 6%, resulting in a significant increase in ad revenue.

According to the financial statements, Facebook had an average of 1.91 billion active users on June 1, 2021, a 7% increase from the same period last year. The number of monthly active users stood at 2.9 billion as of the end of June, an increase of 7% compared to the same period of the previous year.

On the other hand, Facebook expects a headwind for advertising targets due to the recent iOS update among regulatory and advertising platform changes in 2021, and predicts that the impact will be greater in the next quarter than this quarter. Therefore, he showed a cautious attitude about the future outlook, saying that the growth rate is expected to slow significantly in the third and fourth quarters of 2021 compared to the same period of the previous year.

The iOS update mentioned by Facebook is a measure to strengthen Apple’s privacy protection that requires prior consent for advertising companies to use the iOS user advertising identifier IDFA. With ad revenue expected to decline significantly in the future, Facebook is focusing on new businesses. On July 26, 2021, Facebook Vice President Andrew Bosworth announced that Facebook had formed a team specializing in the new virtual space metaverse.

According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse that Facebook is developing is a virtual environment where people live together in a digital space. To realize this, Facebook is investing heavily in its own virtual reality device, Oculus, and when the metaverse is completed, it is said that it will earn profits from digital products and services traded in the virtual reality space within the metaverse.

During a performance briefing to investors, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said over the next few years people will see Facebook as a metaverse company rather than a social media company. Related information can be found here.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General within 40 weeks over US plans to appeal the July 28 (Reuters) – The antitrust prosecution of cases dismissed Facebook announced was. It’s been too long since 48 U.S. states and the Federal Trade Commission were approved for the accusation that Facebook had demanded disbanding because it acquired Instagram or WhatsApp to maintain its monopoly, a federal district court said. It’s about dismissal.

Similarly, the FTC plans to re-file the complaint against Facebook’s long-standing monopoly in the private social network service sector, which was dismissed because the charges were insufficient.

The New York State Attorney General disagrees with the court ruling and must hold Facebook accountable for stifling competition, undermining innovation and reducing privacy. He said that it should not be allowed any more.

Facebook counters that most of the filings for all of the indictments date back to when the FTC approved the takeover several years ago, and that it is different from what it is now. It also claimed that it does not currently compete with Snap, Twitter, or other messaging apps. In any case, the point is whether it can objectively prove the status of Facebook’s monopoly, but if a method for calculating market share is established through this, there is a possibility that it will spread to antitrust prosecutions of other leading technology companies.