Despite privacy concerns, Facebook posts record earnings

Facebook is once again increasing its user base in Europe and North America and showing record earnings — proof that, despite privacy concerns, it can still grow.

After two quarters that saw users shrink in Europe and plateau in North America, the tech giant improved on both those numbers in its latest earnings report. In the period from October to December, it added 4 million daily users in Europe, for a total of 282 million, and 1 million in the U.S. and Canada, to 182 million.

“The biggest surprise for me was Europe — we saw the declines in [daily active users] in 2018, and in the fourth quarter, Facebook actually managed to reverse that,” said Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at eMarketer.

“There have been so many questions about people’s engagement with Facebook, and with these numbers, you don’t see that trend,” she added. 

More important for Wall Street, Facebook handily beat revenue expectations, showing it can still make money despite negative public perceptions.

Revenue increased 30 percent to $16.9 billion, beating expectations of $16.4 billion. Facebook made a record profit of $6.9 billion, a jump of 61 percent from the year before.

Facebook’s stock is up nearly 12 percent after-hours trading on Wednesday as a result.

The company has grappled with data leaks and accusations of trampling over users’ privacy concerns. On Wednesday, Apple accused Facebook of violating its terms after the social-media giant was revealed to have distributed an app that paid users, including teenagers, to extensively track their phone and web use.

Earlier this week, Facebook announced it was hiring an oversight board to make decisions about the content posted on its platform.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.