Facebook’s and Alphabet Inc.’s Google took 99% of the online ad industry’s growth last year, according to Pivotal Research. Facebook predicted that growth would slow in the second half of 2017. Facebook started showing ads in its Messenger chat app and introducing ads in Marketplace, a Craigslist-like feature in the core Facebook app.
Facebook has also been testing “ad breaks” in the middle of Facebook videos and ramping up ads in its photo-sharing app Instagram.
Facebook is also investing in more lucrative ad products to help the company generate more money from every ad unit sold. In the quarter, Facebook debuted several new products to help advertisers more finely target their desired audience, such as one that aims to show ads to all the members of a particular household. Such highly targeted ads tend to be more lucrative for Facebook, analysts say.
Facebook net profit was $3.9 billion in the second quarter, up from $2.3 billion a year ago. Facebook profit rose 71% in the second quarter.
Quarterly revenue rose 45% to $9.3 billion from the prior year’s $6.4 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Facebook to record quarterly revenue of $9.2 billion.