Facebook, Inc. is a social media and networking service company founded by Mark Zuckerberg along with his Harvard college friends in 2004. The name “Facebook” comes from the Facebook directories often given to American university students. Facebook was initially developed and designed as a student networking platform for Harvard, and it gradually spread to other educational institutions, high schools, and colleges.
In 2006, Facebook was eventually opened to the public, and users above the age of 13 years are allowed to become registered users of Facebook and the social networking platform. According to Facebook statistics, Facebook is the leading platform among all the social media platforms.
Since its advent, Facebook, Inc. has been witnessing burgeoning growth and popularity, success, and the number of active users, among other achievements.
Facebook has helped individuals who live away from family to connect easily, and the platform has a range of innovative features. Including allowing users to create their own Facebook page, add and accept friends, and share updates and personal photos with friends and loved ones. Facebook also has other features such as the ‘like button’, which is designed to indicate feedback or personal views about anything to friends.
According to Facebook statistics, the Facebook ‘Like’ button has been pressed 1.1 Trillion times as of September 2018. Similarly, there are other buttons to express opinions that have also helped marketers or individuals gain popularity. Raise brand rankings and avail of other benefits from such features. It has become a platform for connecting with fans and followers of brands, celebrities, etc.
Facebook Inc Active Users in Million
Facebook is one of the largest most-visited social networking platforms currently, with a massive range of margins globally. The site can be accessed from any connected device or device with Internet connectivity. Including personal computers, tablets, laptops, and smartphones.
Facebook has been made available in around 101 languages, with over 300,000 users using translations. Currently, the US, India, and Europe are among the top three countries in terms of the number of active users on Facebook.
Facebook Q4 2020 Operational and Other Financial Highlights
- Facebook daily active users (DAUs) – DAUs were 1.84 billion on average for December 2020, an increase of 11% year-over-year.
- Facebook monthly active users (MAUs) – MAUs were 2.80 billion as of December 31, 2020, an increase of 12% year-over-year.
- Family daily active people (DAP) – DAP was 2.60 billion on average for December 2020, an increase of 15% year-over-year.
- Family monthly active people (MAP) – MAP was 3.30 billion as of December 31, 2020, an increase of 14% year-over-year.
- Capital Expenditures – Capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, were $4.82 billion and $15.72 billion for the fourth quarter and full year of 2020, respectively.
- Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities – Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $61.95 billion as of December 31, 2020.
- Headcount – The headcount was 58,604 as of December 31, 2020, an increase of 30% year-over-year.
More Facts
Among 4.14 billion active social media users, there are 2.80 billion Facebook monthly active users. As of Q4 2020, Asia Pacific had the largest number of Facebook monthly active users with 1,199 Million individuals, followed by the Rest of the World with 921 Million users. North America and Europe accounted for 258 Million and 419 Million active monthly users collectively in the same quarter and the number of monthly active users in these regions is expected to increase significantly shortly.
Till December 2019, there was a 9% increase in the daily active users of Facebook in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines as compared to the previous year. As of Q4 2020 by region, Asia-Pacific had the largest number of Facebook daily active users with 744 Mn users, followed by the Rest of the World with 598 Mn users whereas Europe and North America accounted for 308 Mn and 195 Mn users respectively. That is, the DAU represents 66% of the MAU.
Based on gender, Male and Female active users account for approximately 57% & 43% respectively of the total active users globally.
Worldwide Average Revenue Per User
The Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in North America (the US and Canada) was US$ 41.41 in Q4 2019, which increased to US$ 53.56 in Q4 2020. US and Canada recorded the highest ARPU for Q4 2020, followed by Europe in terms of ARPU at US$ 16.87 in Q4 2020.
Facebook Inc Revenue, By Segment
The advertising segment of the company has been accounting for the highest revenue share as compared to other revenue-generating segments. In Q4 2020, Facebook’s advertising segment contributed US$ 27,187 Million; whereas the other segment accounted for US$ 885 Million.
Mobile advertising revenue represented approximately 94% of advertising revenue for the second quarter of 2019. The advertising segment is projected to continue to account for the highest revenue share, owing to strong marketing strategies implemented by the company, coupled with rising preference among users to build social networks or virtual relationships on a global level.
Facebook Inc Total Revenue
The overall revenue of the company was US$ 70,697 Million in 2019, which increased to US$ 85,965 Million in 2020, an increase of 22% year-over-year. The company registered a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 44% during the year 2013 – 2019.
In 2015, Facebook launched charitable giving tools enabling the collection of donations for causes directed at the overall population or for personal causes, and incoming funds have reached US$ 1 Billion since its launch. In May of 2012, Facebook held an initial public offering and was marked one of the biggest IPOs in history, with a capital valuation of US$ 104 Billion; dwarfing IPOs of some of the major players on the Internet – including Amazon.com, Inc. and Google LLC. Subsidiaries of Facebook include Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus VR, and others.
In 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for US$ 1 Billion, and other significant acquisitions include VR gaming headset company Oculus Rift for US$ 2 Billion and WhatsApp messaging application in 2014 for US$ 19 Billion. Facebook paid US$ 4 Billion in cash, US$ 12 Billion in Facebook shares, and an additional US$ 3 Billion in restricted stock units granted to WhatsApp’s founders.
About Messenger
Messenger, also called Facebook Messenger, is an app for private messaging or chat purposes. It was originally developed in 2008 as “Facebook Chat”; however, Facebook, Inc. restructured the messaging service in 2010, and developed separate apps for iOS and Android in 2011.
Post this, Facebook gradually released several apps for various operating systems, which resulted in the need to launch a dedicated website interface. Facebook then separated the messaging functionality from the main Facebook app, thereby making it necessary for users to use the web interface or download a standalone app to use Messenger.
What was new in 2019?
- In 2019, Facebook opened data centers in Nebraska, New Mexico, and Denmark which are supported by 100% renewable energy.
- In January 2019, the 10-year challenge was started asking users to post a photograph of themselves from 10 years ago (2009) and a more recent photo.
- Facebook introduced Oculus Quest — a New All-in-One VR System.
- Facebook announced in March 2019 that it would provide users with “authoritative information” on the topic of vaccines.
- On May 2, 2019, Facebook announced its new vision with the tagline “The Future is Private”.
- On July 31, Facebook announced a partnership with the University of California, San Francisco to build a non-invasive, wearable device that lets people type by simply imagining themselves talking.
- On September 5, 2019, Facebook launched Facebook Dating in the United States.
- Based on CBinsights research, Facebook stands fourth along with Intel in terms of AI domination with 8 AI startups acquired from 2010 to September 2019.
- On October 25 Facebook News was launched, which features selected stories from news organizations.
Facebook Inc Statistics: Fun Facts
- Facebook stories are viewed by 0.6 Billion viewers daily.
- India has the most Facebook users in the world with 280 million users followed by the United Nations with 190 million users.
- In 2020, in 60 seconds on the internet,1.3 Million people logged in to Facebook, and 59 million messages were sent through Messenger and WhatsApp.
- 100 billion+ messages are shared on Facebook every day.
- There are approximately 5.76 billion Facebook likes generated every day.
- Over 5 Billion messages are posted on Facebook pages collectively, every month.
- Daily 8 Billion hours of video views are generated.
- 180+ Million businesses use Facebook apps to connect with customers and grow.
- The average number of friends a Facebook user has exceeds 150.
- Facebook has more than 90 million active business pages.
- There are 8 Mn+ active advertisers on Facebook.
- There are approximately 57% Male and 43% Female users.
- Over 4 million advertisers are using Facebook Stories.
- Over 1 billion+ Stories are shared every day.
Moreover
- 10 Mn messages are sent between people and business accounts on Messenger every month.
- 8 Bn messages are sent between customers and business accounts on messenger every day.
- As per the report by Facebook and Copenhagen Economics, Facebook apps helped businesses contribute about 200 billion Euros to the European economy in 2019.
- There are 0.3 Mn bots monthly active, on messenger.
- 700 Mn users make use of Facebook events each month.
- On average, more than 2.47 Bn people use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger every day, and 3.14 Bn people use at least one of these Facebook services each month.
- Among some of the most-watched videos on Facebook are videos of food recipes, babies, child abduction, scientific advancements, new cars, weather forecasts, popular tourist places, and bucket lists.
- Facebook has a market value of 775 billion US$.
- The brand value of Facebook in 2020 was 147.190 Billion US$.