Facebook beats 2nd quarter revenue expectations even as ad industry struggles

(Image credit: Graeme Jennings - Pool/Getty Images)

published 30 July 2020

Pretty much every business suffered in 2020's second financial quarter. Well, except Facebook.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effect on the U.S. GDP, pushing it down 9.5 percent from the first quarter and 32.9 percent from the year before. But Facebook's revenue still grew 11 percent from Q1 to Q2, beating economists' expectations, the company revealed Thursday.

Facebook's 11 percent revenue growth is the smallest quarterly growth it has seen since it became a public company. Previously, its first quarter growth of 18 percent was its smallest. But on average, analysts only expected Facebook's revenue to grow to $17.3 billion in Q2, making its $18.6 billion reality a win, Bloomberg notes. Facebook's profit growth of $5.18 billion also meant shareholders made out well with a $1.80 gain per share, beating estimates of $1.39.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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