Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Ahead of Today's Earnings Report: "Facebook exodus: Nearly half of young users have deleted the app from their phone in the last year, says study" (FB)

Just a reminder from CNBC, September 10:
  • A new survey of more than 3,400 U.S. Facebook users finds that 44 percent of users ages 18 to 29 have deleted the app from their phones in the past year.
  • Overall, 26 percent have deleted the app, while 42 percent have taken a break of several weeks or more.
  • The survey does not measure usage of Facebook's Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, all of which remain popular overseas, and does not measure Facebook's continuing growth overseas.
Facebook's year of scandals is driving young users away from the platform, according to a Pew survey.

Pew surveyed more than 3,400 U.S. Facebook users in May and June, and found that a whopping 44 percent of those ages 18 to 29 say they've deleted the app from their phone in the last year. Some of them may have reinstalled it later.

Overall, 26 percent of survey respondents say they deleted the app, while 42 percent have "taken a break" for several weeks or more, and 54 percent have adjusted their privacy settings....
...MORE

Whether the stock has fallen enough to cushion any disappointment is an open question: Here's the daily action for the last three quarters:

FB Facebook, Inc. daily Stock Chart

And an odd little tidbit from Business Insider:

Millennial investors are loading up Facebook ahead of its earnings (FB)
  • Facebook shares have been tumbling since the social-media giant reported second-quarter earnings on July 25 — but investors on the free-trading app Robinhood have been snapping up the stock.
  • CFO David Wehner warned in July that the company expected a significant slowdown in its revenue growth in the years ahead.
  • Facebook is set to report earnings after Tuesday's closing bell..
Facebook shares have plunged 35% since July 25 — when the company reported disappointing second-quarter results — but investors on Robinhood, a free trading platform popular among younger investors, appear to be betting on a turnaround following the tech giant's third-quarter results, which are due after Tuesday's closing bell.

According to weekly data tracked by Business Insider, a net of more than 60,000 Robinhood investors have added Facebook to their portfolio since the company reported its second-quarter earnings. There are now 175,541 investors holding Facebook shares on Robinhood's platform, making the social media company the third most-popular stock on the app. It's up nine spots since Facebook's last quarterly report....MORE
I'm guessing the question: "Will advertisers continue paying up while the key demographic  doesn't seem as engaged" will prove more important for investors than what's being bought via Robinhood.