Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Starlink to South Africa: ‘We are ready to invest’

      17 June 2025

      Vodacom CEO Joosub bags R71m in pay – but taxman will take a big cut

      17 June 2025

      Major rift opens between Microsoft and OpenAI

      17 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      South African AI energy start-up in R32m funding round

      17 June 2025
    • World

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » World » Facebook to move faster to monetise WhatsApp

    Facebook to move faster to monetise WhatsApp

    By Agency Staff27 July 2017
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    Facebook investors are salivating over the revenue potential for the company’s chat businesses, Messenger and WhatsApp, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he’d like to move “a little faster” to make money from them.

    The company has warned that sales growth, fuelled primarily by mobile advertising, will slow because it can’t keep loading ads into users’ news feeds on its main social network.

    Both of Facebook’s chat apps have more than a billion users, though neither contributes significant revenue yet.

    After the company’s earnings report Wednesday, Wall Street decided these apps are the answer to the growth challenge, and Zuckerberg’s comments sent the shares up as much as 4.7% in extended trading.

    I actually think in over the next couple of years or few years, the much bigger driver of the business and determinant of how we do is going to be video, not Messenger

    Executives spent the bulk of their earnings call with investors fielding questions about the potential for Messenger and WhatsApp. Zuckerberg tempted them further, saying Facebook “should be able to do better” at building a business than popular Asian messaging apps.

    It was left to chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and chief financial officer David Wehner to quickly remind everyone that the app businesses were still in experimental phases.

    Sensing he might have inflated expectations just a bit too much, Zuckerberg reframed his remarks.

    “So there have been a number of questions about Messenger,” he said. “It’s a longer term thing. I actually think in over the next couple of years or few years, the much bigger driver of the business and determinant of how we do is going to be video, not Messenger.”

    Mobile advertising

    Earlier, Facebook reported second quarter sales that beat analysts’ estimates, climbing 45% to US$9.3bn. Mobile advertising generated 87% of total ad revenue, an increase from 84% in the same period a year earlier. Net income rose to $3.9bn, or $1.32/share, from $2.3bn, or $0.78.

    Facebook’s social network, now with more than two billion monthly active users, is steadily driving sales at a faster pace than at other technology giants. That consistency funds the company’s efforts in chat applications and virtual reality. To keep up growth, Facebook has been heavily investing in video.

    The sales growth is “really based on increased engagement” on Facebook and Instagram, Sandberg said in an interview.

    “Facebook and Google are taking virtually all the growth in digital advertising — they’re the easiest place to spend your money,” said Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group.

    Facebook shares closed on Wednesday at $165.61 in New York, just off the company’s record high of $166 on Monday. The stock has increased 44% this year.

    TV initiative

    While Facebook’s video advertising business has helped propel sales for the last few quarters, the company is getting into content, too. Facebook has funded TV-like shows and short video series for a new product set to come out in mid-August, people familiar with the matter have said. The effort will help the company gain a share of the $70bn television advertising market. It will also kickstart Facebook’s role as a video platform for episodic viewing, not just the viral videos that already are common, Sandberg said.

    Facebook and Google are taking virtually all the growth in digital advertising – they’re the easiest place to spend your money

    With the frequency of ads on the social network holding steady to avoid turning off users, Facebook is relying on Instagram, the photo-sharing application, for more ad inventory. Now with more than 700m users, Instagram has a mature advertising business, built off of Facebook’s, and has been competing with newly public Snap, the maker of Snapchat, for young audiences.

    Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $22bn, and spun off Messenger from its main application. WhatsApp now has a billion users a day, the company said. Before Wednesday, Zuckerberg hadn’t expressed any urgency about making money from those applications. Both are attempting to generate sales from users’ direct relationships with businesses. Oculus, the company’s virtual reality division, has been working to make the technology popular among consumer audiences, but hasn’t yet seen widespread adoption.

    The new initiatives helped boost Facebook’s costs 33% to $4.9bn in the quarter. The company also increased its workforce by 43% to 20 658 as of 30 June.

    Expanded mission

    Zuckerberg also has been talking about the company’s broader role in society, especially as isolationist and nationalist movements spring up around the world. Facebook has been criticised for the spread of extremism and false news on its social network. Zuckerberg, travelling around the US and talking to people from different backgrounds, has produced a new company mission statement: to bring the world closer together.

    In order to get there, Facebook is going to put more emphasis on Facebook Groups, with the goal of adding a billion people to “meaningful” groups, such as those that help people deal with parenting or addiction, from the current 100m, Zuckerberg has said. The company has also added 3 000 workers to catch violent and abusive comments and images on the network before they cause harm.  — Reported by Sarah Frier, (c) 2017 Bloomberg LP



    Facebook Mark Zuckerberg Messenger Sheryl Sandberg top WhatsApp
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleGet out of our ducts, Telkom tells Vodacom
    Next Article MTN provides guidance on earnings

    Related Posts

    Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

    17 June 2025

    Zuckerberg bets big on artificial general intelligence

    10 June 2025

    FlySafair now accepts flight bookings via AI

    9 June 2025
    Company News

    Altron: a brand journey, a birthday celebration and a bet on Joburg’s future

    17 June 2025

    7 benefits of social media integration in WordPress

    17 June 2025

    Paratus Zimbabwe and PowerTel strike milestone deal

    17 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.