Facebook Earnings Out, Mobile Ad Revenue 80% Of All Ad Revenue

Facebook just released its earnings report for the fourth quarter and full-year 2015. Full-year revenue was $17.93 billion, up 44% year-over-year. Net income was $3.69 billion. Mobile ad revenue repre...
Facebook Earnings Out, Mobile Ad Revenue 80% Of All Ad Revenue
Written by Chris Crum
  • Facebook just released its earnings report for the fourth quarter and full-year 2015. Full-year revenue was $17.93 billion, up 44% year-over-year. Net income was $3.69 billion.

    Mobile ad revenue represented 80% of all ad revenue in the fourth quarter. That’s up 69% from the fourth quarter in 2014.

    The company announced that it hit 1.04 billion daily active users (on average) in December, which is up 17% from the year prior. Mobile daily active users were 934 million in December (up 25% year-over-year).

    Monthly active users were 1.59 billion at the end of the year, up 14% year-over-year. Mobile MAUs were 1.44 billion (up 21% year-over-year).

    Here’s the release in its entirety:

    MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2015.

    “2015 was a great year for Facebook. Our community continued to grow and our business is thriving,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebookfounder and CEO. “We continue to invest in better serving our community, building our business, and connecting the world.”

    Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Financial Summary  

    Three Months Ended December 31,

    Year Ended December 31,

    In millions, except percentages and per share amounts

    2015

    2014

    2015

    2014

    Revenue

    $ 5,841

    $ 3,851

    $ 17,928

    $ 12,466

    Income from Operations

       GAAP

    $ 2,560

    $ 1,133

    $   6,225

    $   4,994

       Non-GAAP*

    $ 3,523

    $ 2,219

    $ 10,001

    $   7,207

    Operating Margin

       GAAP

    44%

    29%

    35%

    40%

       Non-GAAP*

    60%

    58%

    56%

    58%

    Net Income

       GAAP

    $ 1,562

    $    701

    $   3,688

    $   2,940

       Non-GAAP*

    $ 2,265

    $ 1,518

    $   6,518

    $   4,713

    Diluted Earnings per Share (EPS)

       GAAP

    $   0.54

    $   0.25

    $     1.29

    $     1.10

       Non-GAAP*

    $   0.79

    $   0.54

    $     2.28

    $     1.77

    *

    Non-GAAP financial measures exclude amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses. Non-GAAP net income and EPS also exclude the income tax effects of these non-GAAP adjustments. See the table below titled “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Results to Nearest GAAP Measures.”

    Full Year 2015 Business Highlights

    • Revenue – Revenue for the full year 2015 was $17.93 billion, an increase of 44% year-over-year.
    • Income from operations – Income from operations for the full year 2015 was $6.23 billion.
    • Net income – Net income for the full year 2015 was $3.69 billion.
    • Free cash flow – Free cash flow for the full year 2015 was $6.08 billion.
    • Daily active users (DAUs) – DAUs were 1.04 billion on average for December 2015, an increase of 17% year-over-year.
    • Mobile DAUs – Mobile DAUs were 934 million on average for December 2015, an increase of 25% year-over-year.
    • Monthly active users (MAUs) – MAUs were 1.59 billion as of December 31, 2015, an increase of 14% year-over-year.
    • Mobile MAUs – Mobile MAUs were 1.44 billion as of December 31, 2015, an increase of 21% year-over-year.

    Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial Highlights

    GAAP

    Year-over-
    Year %
    Change

    Three Months Ended December 31,

    In millions, except percentages and per share amounts

    2015

    2014

    Revenue:

       Advertising(1)

    $ 5,637

    $ 3,594

    57%

       Payments and other fees

    204

    257

    (21)%

    Total revenue(2)

    5,841

    3,851

    52%

    Total costs and expenses

    3,281

    2,718

    21%

    Income from operations

    $ 2,560

    $ 1,133

    126%

    Operating margin

    44%

    29%

    Provision for income taxes

    995

    Effective tax rate

    39%

    Net income

    $ 1,562

    $    701

    123%

    Diluted EPS

    $   0.54

    $   0.25

    116%

    (1) Excluding the impact of year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates, advertising revenue would have increased by 66%.

    (2) Excluding the impact of year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates, total revenue would have increased by 60%.

    Non-GAAP

    Year-over-
    Year %
    Change

    Three Months Ended December 31,

    In millions, except percentages and per share amounts

    2015

    2014

    GAAP revenue

    $ 5,841

    $ 3,851

    52%

    Total costs and expenses

    2,318

    1,632

    42%

    Income from operations

    $ 3,523

    $ 2,219

    59%

    Operating margin

    60%

    58%

    Effective tax rate

    36%

    Net income

    $ 2,265

    $ 1,518

    49%

    Diluted EPS

    $   0.79

    $   0.54

    46%

    Fourth Quarter 2015 Other Financial Highlights

    • Mobile advertising revenue – Mobile advertising revenue represented approximately 80% of advertising revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015, up from 69% of advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014.
    • Capital expenditures – Capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $692 million.
    • Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities – Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $18.43 billionat the end of the fourth quarter of 2015.
    • Free cash flow – Free cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $2.14 billion.

    Webcast and Conference Call Information

    Facebook will host a conference call to discuss the results at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET today. The live webcast of Facebook’s earnings release call can be accessed at investor.fb.com, along with the earnings press release, financial tables and slide presentation. Facebookuses the investor.fb.com website and Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/zuck) as means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

    Following the call, a replay will be available at the same website. A telephonic replay will be available for one week following the conference call at +1 (404) 537-3406 or +1 (855) 859-2056, conference ID 16251646.

    About Facebook

    Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. People useFacebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.

    Contacts

    Investors:
    Deborah Crawford
    [email protected] / investor.fb.com

    Press:
    Vanessa Chan
    [email protected] / newsroom.fb.com

    Forward Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including: our ability to retain or increase users and engagement levels; our reliance on advertising revenue; our dependency on mobile operating systems, networks, and standards that we do not control; risks associated with new product development and their introduction as well as other new business initiatives; our emphasis on user growth and engagement and the user experience over short-term financial results; competition; litigation; privacy and regulatory concerns; risks associated with acquisitions; security breaches; and our ability to manage growth and geographically-dispersed operations. These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 5, 2015, which is available on our Investor Relations website at investor.fb.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. In addition, please note that the date of this press release is January 27, 2016, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, we use the following non-GAAP financial measures: revenue excluding foreign exchange effect and advertising revenue excluding foreign exchange effect; non-GAAP costs and expenses; non-GAAP income from operations; non-GAAP net income; non-GAAP diluted shares; non-GAAP diluted earnings per share; non-GAAP operating margin; non-GAAP effective tax rate; and free cash flow. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. In particular, many of the adjustments to our GAAP financial measures reflect the exclusion of items, specifically amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation expense, and payroll tax related to share-based compensation expense, and the related income tax effects of the aforementioned exclusions, that are recurring and will be reflected in our financial results for the foreseeable future. In addition, these measures may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures.

    We believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with useful supplemental information about the financial performance of our business, enable comparison of financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in operating our business.

    We exclude the following items from one or more of our non-GAAP financial measures:

    Amortization of intangible assets. We amortize intangible assets acquired in connection with acquisitions. We exclude these amortization expenses because we do not believe these expenses are reflective of ongoing operating results in the period. These amounts arise from our prior acquisitions and have no direct correlation to the operation of our business.

    Share-based compensation expense. We exclude share-based compensation expense because we believe that the non-GAAP financial measures excluding this item provide meaningful supplemental information regarding operational performance. In particular, because of varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types that companies can use under FASB ASC 718, we believe that providing non-GAAP financial measures that exclude this expense allows investors to make more meaningful comparisons between our operating results and those of other companies. Accordingly, we believe that excluding this expense provides investors and management with greater visibility to the underlying performance of our business operations, facilitates comparison of our results with other periods, and may also facilitate comparison with the results of other companies in our industry.

    Payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation. We exclude payroll tax expense related to share-based compensation expense because, without excluding these tax expenses, investors would not see the full effect that excluding share-based compensation expense had on our operating results. These expenses are tied to the exercise or vesting of underlying equity awards and the price of our common stock at the time of vesting or exercise, which factors may vary from period to period independent of the operating performance of our business. Similar to share-based compensation expense, we believe that excluding this payroll tax expense provides investors and management with greater visibility to the underlying performance of our business operations and facilitates comparison with other periods as well as the results of other companies.

    Income tax effect of amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses. We believe excluding the income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments assists investors and management in understanding the tax provision related to those adjustments and provides useful supplemental information regarding the underlying performance of our business operations.

    Foreign exchange effect on revenue. We translated revenue for the three months and year ended December 31, 2015 using the prior year’s monthly exchange rates for our settlement currencies other than the U.S. dollar, which we believe is a useful metric that facilitates comparison to our historical performance.

    Purchases of property and equipment. We subtract purchases of property and equipment in our calculation of free cash flow because we believe that this methodology can provide useful supplemental information to help investors better understand underlying trends in our business.

    For more information on our non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of such measures to the nearest GAAP measure, please see the “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Results to Nearest GAAP Measures” table in this press release.

    FACEBOOK, INC.

    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

    (In millions, except for per share amounts)

    (Unaudited)

    Three Months EndedDecember 31,

    Year EndedDecember 31,

    2015

    2014

    2015

    2014

    Revenue

    $ 5,841

    $ 3,851

    $ 17,928

    $ 12,466

    Costs and expenses:

       Cost of revenue

    824

    653

    2,867

    2,153

       Research and development

    1,314

    1,111

    4,816

    2,666

       Marketing and sales

    772

    624

    2,725

    1,680

       General and administrative

    371

    330

    1,295

    973

          Total costs and expenses

    3,281

    2,718

    11,703

    7,472

    Income from operations

    2,560

    1,133

    6,225

    4,994

    Interest and other income/(expense), net

    (3)

    (19)

    (31)

    (84)

    Income before provision for income taxes

    2,557

    1,114

    6,194

    4,910

    Provision for income taxes

    995

    413

    2,506

    1,970

    Net income

    $ 1,562

    $    701

    $   3,688

    $   2,940

    Less: Net income attributable to participating securities

    7

    5

    19

    15

    Net income attributable to Class A and Class B common stockholders

    $ 1,555

    $    696

    $   3,669

    $   2,925

    Earnings per share attributable to Class A and Class B common stockholders:

       Basic

    $   0.55

    $   0.25

    $     1.31

    $     1.12

       Diluted

    $   0.54

    $   0.25

    $     1.29

    $     1.10

    Weighted average shares used to compute earnings per share attributable to Class A and Class B common stockholders:

       Basic

    2,825

    2,761

    2,803

    2,614

       Diluted

    2,878

    2,816

    2,853

    2,664

    Share-based compensation expense included in costs and expenses:

       Cost of revenue

    $      22

    $      18

    $        81

    $        62

       Research and development

    583

    685

    2,350

    1,328

       Marketing and sales

    84

    103

    320

    249

       General and administrative

    57

    90

    218

    198

          Total share-based compensation expense

    $    746

    $    896

    $   2,969

    $   1,837

    Payroll tax expenses related to share-based compensation included in costs and expenses:

       Cost of revenue

    $         –

    $         –

    $          2

    $          3

       Research and development

    22

    6

    56

    33

       Marketing and sales

    2

    2

    10

    9

       General and administrative

    2

    5

    9

    12

          Total payroll tax expenses related to share-based compensation

    $      26

    $      13

    $        77

    $        57

    Amortization of intangible assets included in costs and expenses:

       Cost of revenue

    $      55

    $      42

    $      187

    $        87

       Research and development

    9

    10

    39

    33

       Marketing and sales

    103

    102

    410

    105

       General and administrative

    24

    23

    94

    94

          Total amortization of intangible assets

    $    191

    $    177

    $      730

    $      319

    FACEBOOK, INC.

    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

    (In millions)

    (Unaudited)

    December 31, 2015

    December 31, 2014

    Assets

    Current assets:

    Cash and cash equivalents

    $                       4,907

    $                       4,315

    Marketable securities

    13,527

    6,884

    Accounts receivable, net of allowances for doubtful accounts of $68 and $39 as of December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively

    2,559

    1,678

    Prepaid expenses and other current assets(1)

    659

    513

       Total current assets

    21,652

    13,390

    Property and equipment, net

    5,687

    3,967

    Intangible assets, net

    3,246

    3,929

    Goodwill

    18,026

    17,981

    Other assets(1)

    796

    699

    Total assets

    $                     49,407

    $                     39,966

    Liabilities and stockholders’ equity

    Current liabilities:

    Accounts payable

    $                          196

    $                          176

    Partners payable

    217

    202

    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    1,449

    866

    Deferred revenue and deposits

    56

    66

    Current portion of capital lease obligations

    7

    114

       Total current liabilities

    1,925

    1,424

    Capital lease obligations, less current portion

    107

    119

    Other liabilities(1)

    3,157

    2,327

       Total liabilities

    5,189

    3,870

    Stockholders’ equity

    Common stock and additional paid-in capital

    34,886

    30,225

    Accumulated other comprehensive loss

    (455)

    (228)

    Retained earnings

    9,787

    6,099

       Total stockholders’ equity

    44,218

    36,096

    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

    $                     49,407

    $                     39,966

    (1)

    In November 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-17, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes (ASU 2015-17), which simplifies the presentation of deferred income taxes by requiring deferred tax assets and liabilities be classified as noncurrent on the balance sheet. We early adopted this standard retrospectively and reclassified $280 million of our current deferred tax assets to noncurrent deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2014. This resulted in net adjustments of $62 million increase and $218 milliondecrease to our noncurrent deferred tax assets and noncurrent deferred tax liability, respectively, on our December 31, 2014condensed consolidated balance sheet.

    FACEBOOK, INC.

    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

    (In millions)

    (Unaudited)

    Three Months Ended December 31,

    Year Ended
    December 31,

    2015

    2014

    2015

    2014

    Cash flows from operating activities

    Net income

    $ 1,562

    $      701

    $  3,688

    $   2,940

    Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

    Depreciation and amortization

    543

    433

    1,945

    1,243

    Lease abandonment

    (31)

    Share-based compensation

    746

    845

    2,960

    1,786

    Deferred income taxes

    (123)

    (180)

    (795)

    (210)

    Tax benefit from share-based award activity

    566

    499

    1,721

    1,853

    Excess tax benefit from share-based award activity

    (566)

    (504)

    (1,721)

    (1,869)

    Other

    3

    2

    17

    7

    Changes in assets and liabilities:

    Accounts receivable

    (568)

    (346)

    (973)

    (610)

    Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    1

    (78)

    (144)

    (123)

    Other assets

    (7)

    (58)

    (3)

    (216)

    Accounts payable

    11

    19

    18

    31

    Partners payable

    (23)

    (6)

    17

    (28)

    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

    222

    130

    513

    328

    Deferred revenue and deposits

    9

    7

    (9)

    10

    Other liabilities

    451

    119

    1,365

    346

    Net cash provided by operating activities

    2,827

    1,583

    8,599

    5,457

    Cash flows from investing activities

    Purchases of property and equipment

    (692)

    (517)

    (2,523)

    (1,831)

    Purchases of marketable securities

    (5,605)

    (2,889)

    (15,938)

    (9,104)

    Sales of marketable securities

    2,803

    1,047

    6,928

    8,438

    Maturities of marketable securities

    747

    199

    2,310

    1,909

    Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired, and purchases of intangible assets

    (4)

    (4,221)

    (313)

    (4,975)

    Change in restricted cash and deposits

    25

    (235)

    102

    (348)

    Other investing activities, net

    (2)

    Net cash used in investing activities

    (2,726)

    (6,616)

    (9,434)

    (5,913)

    Cash flows from financing activities

    Taxes paid related to net share settlement

    (70)

    (20)

    (73)

    Proceeds from exercise of stock options

    11

    18

    Principal payments on capital lease obligations

    (12)

    (44)

    (119)

    (243)

    Excess tax benefit from share-based award activity

    566

    504

    1,721

    1,869

    Net cash provided by financing activities

    554

    401

    1,582

    1,571

    Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

    (56)

    (52)

    (155)

    (123)

    Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

    599

    (4,684)

    592

    992

    Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

    4,308

    8,999

    4,315

    3,323

    Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

    $ 4,907

    $   4,315

    $  4,907

    $   4,315

    FACEBOOK, INC.

    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

    (In millions)

    (Unaudited)

    Three Months EndedDecember 31,

    Year Ended
    December 31,

    2015

    2014

    2015

    2014

    Supplemental cash flow data

    Cash paid during the period for:

    Interest

    $        2

    $           3

    $       10

    $        14

    Income taxes

    $      71

    $         77

    $     273

    $      184

    Cash received during the period for:

    Income taxes

    $         –

    $            –

    $         3

    $          6

    Non-cash investing and financing activities:

    Net change in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities, and other liabilities related to property and equipment additions

    $     (19)

    $         53

    $       88

    $        91

    Fair value of shares issued related to acquisitions of businesses

    $          –

    $  12,987

    $          –

    $ 14,344

    Promissory note payable issued in connection with an acquisition

    $          –

    $            –

    $     198

    $           –

    Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Results to Nearest GAAP Measures

    (In millions, except percentages and per share amounts)

    (Unaudited)

    Three Months Ended December 31,

    Year Ended
    December 31,

    2015

    2014

    2015

    2014

    GAAP revenue

    $  5,841

    $  3,851

    $  17,928

    $  12,466

       Foreign exchange effect on 2015 revenue using 2014 rates

    322

    1,185

    Revenue excluding foreign exchange effect

    $  6,163

    $  19,113

    GAAP revenue year-over-year change %

    52%

    44%

    Revenue excluding foreign exchange effect year-over-year change %

    60%

    53%

    GAAP advertising revenue

    $  5,637

    $  3,594

    $  17,079

    $  11,492

       Foreign exchange effect on 2015 advertising revenue using 2014 rates

    322

    1,185

    Advertising revenue excluding foreign exchange effect

    $  5,959

    $  18,264

    GAAP advertising revenue year-over-year change %

    57%

    49%

    Advertising revenue excluding foreign exchange effect year-over-year change %

    66%

    59%

    GAAP costs and expenses

    $  3,281

    $  2,718

    $  11,703

    $    7,472

       Share-based compensation expense

    (746)

    (896)

    (2,969)

    (1,837)

       Payroll tax expenses related to share-based compensation

    (26)

    (13)

    (77)

    (57)

       Amortization of intangible assets

    (191)

    (177)

    (730)

    (319)

    Non-GAAP costs and expenses

    $  2,318

    $  1,632

    $    7,927

    $    5,259

    GAAP income from operations

    $  2,560

    $  1,133

    $    6,225

    $    4,994

       Share-based compensation expense

    746

    896

    2,969

    1,837

       Payroll tax expenses related to share-based compensation

    26

    13

    77

    57

       Amortization of intangible assets

    191

    177

    730

    319

    Non-GAAP income from operations

    $  3,523

    $  2,219

    $  10,001

    $    7,207

    GAAP net income

    $  1,562

    $     701

    $    3,688

    $    2,940

       Share-based compensation expense

    746

    896

    2,969

    1,837

       Payroll tax expenses related to share-based compensation

    26

    13

    77

    57

       Amortization of intangible assets

    191

    177

    730

    319

       Income tax adjustments

    (260)

    (269)

    (946)

    (440)

    Non-GAAP net income

    $  2,265

    $  1,518

    $    6,518

    $    4,713

    GAAP and Non-GAAP diluted shares

    2,878

    2,816

    2,853

    2,664

    GAAP diluted earnings per share

    $    0.54

    $    0.25

    $      1.29

    $      1.10

       Net income attributable to participating securities

    (0.01)

       Non-GAAP adjustments to net income

    0.25

    0.29

    0.99

    0.68

    Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share

    $    0.79

    $    0.54

    $      2.28

    $      1.77

    GAAP operating margin

    44%

    29%

    35%

    40%

       Share-based compensation expense

    13%

    23%

    17%

    15%

       Payroll tax expenses related to share-based compensation

    —%

    —%

    —%

    —%

       Amortization of intangible assets

    3%

    5%

    4%

    3%

    Non-GAAP operating margin

    60%

    58%

    56%

    58%

    GAAP income before provision for income taxes

    $  2,557

    $  1,114

    $    6,194

    $    4,910

    GAAP provision for income taxes

    995

    413

    2,506

    1,970

    GAAP effective tax rate

    39%

    37%

    40%

    40%

    GAAP income before provision for income taxes

    $  2,557

    $  1,114

    $    6,194

    $    4,910

    Share-based compensation and related payroll tax expenses

    772

    909

    3,046

    1,894

    Amortization of intangible assets

    191

    177

    730

    319

    Non-GAAP income before provision for income taxes

    $  3,520

    $  2,200

    $    9,970

    $    7,123

    Non-GAAP provision for income taxes

    1,255

    682

    3,452

    2,410

    Non-GAAP effective tax rate

    36%

    31%

    35%

    34%

    Net cash provided by operating activities

    $  2,827

    $  1,583

    $    8,599

    $    5,457

       Purchases of property and equipment

    (692)

    (517)

    (2,523)

    (1,831)

    Free cash flow

    $  2,135

    $  1,066

    $    6,076

    $    3,626

     

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