Facebook reports bumper Q3 sales at $29 bn as scrutiny grows

San Francisco, Oct 26 (IANS) Amid intense scrutiny from governments the world over, especially in the US, Facebook has reported a bumper third quarter (Q3) revenue at $29 billion -- up 35 per cent (on-year) -- and $28.3 billion came from ad revenue.

The social network reported $9.1 billion in net income, up 17 per cent from the same quarter last year.

Facebook's shares were up 1.9 after its third-quarter earnings.

Approximately 2.8 billion people are using at least one of its apps on a daily basis, and 3.6 billion people used at least one on a monthly basis in September, the company said late on Monday while announcing its Q3 (July-September period) results.

"We made good progress this quarter and our community continues to grow. I'm excited about our roadmap, especially around creators, commerce, and helping to build the metaverse," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook daily active users reached 1.93 billion, up 6 per cent or 110 million compared to last year while months active users grew by 170 million or 6 per cent compared to last year.

Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said during the earnings call that the advertising spend was negatively impacted by performance in measurement headwinds related to Apple's changes.

"Second, we are seeing some macro headwinds as growth in online commerce has moderated from the elevated levels experienced earlier in the pandemic, and businesses faced supply chain disruptions," Wehner added.

Facebook currently employs 68,177 people -- an increase of 20 per cent year-over-year.