When it came to health newfound Facebook Mobile, they shared a lot. So, in fact, that obscured topics such as the potential involvement of Graphic Research rolled out; Gifts Facebook, Instagram and play on the terms of disorder service.
Intentional omissions? Altogether. Wise learned? The jury is still out, investors consider - perhaps guess is a better word - how all the paris Facebook will play out. The company does not provide financial forecasts. The Facebook shares sold 8 percent at the beginning of the day, but ended Thursday down less than 1 percent, to $ 30.98.
"Openness is important to Facebook," said a representative, when asked why the company does not provide financial advice of Wall Street. "We are a rapidly growing and evolving, and we are working hard to provide the parameters that are most useful to understand our business. "
So what makes Facebook feel useless metric? Those that you probably want to know more.
Why is a failure Gifts?
Gifts Facebook, which now includes the Facebook card, maybe a diamond in the rough, but this time the diamond is looking damn rude. Facebook was at least at the outset about it.
"This past quarter, payments and other revenues also about $ 5 million from external sources games, mainly users and messages promoted to a lesser extent, our new product Gifts" Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman said.
Read this statement again. One conclusion is that gifts made in less than half the figure 5 million in revenue in the fourth quarter, and that's just terrible. Facebook was then informed that the product will not bring Gifts considerable revenue in 2013.
Instead of telling us why gifts are not making money, which we suspect has to do with a terrible experience on mobile (where Facebook users live these days), Ebersman just danced around the subject with the status quo of society retort on upcoming products before sales. Facebook is "just to understand how the product needs to work," he said.
The explanation avoids a potential reality: that of giving gifts through Facebook is not an experience people really want.
What happens with Instagram?
Remember the kerfuffle Privacy Policy Instagram December 2012? Of course you do. We have not forgotten either.
Facebook even Wall Street seems to have temporary amnesia. Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg Ebersman all avoided the subject, and analysts are not on answers in the questions and answers the call. Execs spoke enthusiastically about the performance and potential Instagram - "Instagram pictures and doing well," said Zuckerberg - but gave us nothing to really grasp.
We could give a pass Facebook. After all, the agreement Instagram just closed in September and Facebook has not really integrate the two products. The hysteria around the proposed policy changes, however, have been sufficient to Facebook to tell us something - anything really - the application of well-being, even if it is just to silence the haters.
"Instagram has continued to grow very quickly, and I hope we will have some new benchmarks to share with you all soon," this is Zuckerberg could muster.
For now, we are stuck with the stats 90 million monthly-active-user shared earlier this month.
All signs that people love Graphic Research?
Search graphic was mentioned eight times on the call, which was not much of a product a service called Facebook the third pillar as important as RSS news and calendar.
Find graphics, launched in limited release earlier this month, is the engine of social network research is structured as a gateway to people, products, places and interests. It is also a potentially lucrative vehicle for targeted ads. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter predicts that curated search product will add $ 3 billion to $ 4 billion of revenue 2015.Granted, it is a fresh product. But Facebook is to remain silent when the company hopes to extend even to the masses. As for benefits, Zuckerberg would only say that Facebook does not generate any product revenue in the immediate future.
"I do not want to temper expectations a bit short on revenues from other areas such as gifts or graph search," said Zuckerberg.
The company has also put forward does not have a timetable around a more generalized provide investors with an indication that the graphics research was to improve participation rates, or share anything beyond what has already been said. Zuckerberg has focused instead on the major points of discussion such as sharpness Search Graph traditional Web search, focusing on Facebook to get the right product, and so on.
But here's the thing: If you want to know why Facebook is going to be spending like crazy in 2013, look no further than Search Chart. "Products like ... Search Chart are things that we want to invest in aggressive, "said Zuckerberg." On this basis, we decided to continue to develop our head count rapidly in 2013, especially in product development. "
In a nutshell, Facebook plans to spend more than 50 per cent in 2013, adding about 1.4 billion more than spending the last year have to do with his interest in improving Search graph. This is a search engine expensive.
How much revenue from mobile ads installed app?
The most exciting product release in the fourth quarter, at least in terms of potential revenue was installed app mobile ads. The units are designed for third party app-makers who want mobile users to install Facebook applications. The units were made available to all developers in October, and, by all accounts, work wonders.
Facebook mobile app ads said installation are used by 20 percent of the Top Grossing iOS applications, and social network is now the best driver awareness of new mobile application downloads.
Well, okay. Now, where is the proof that the ads are a financial success? We did not have, in part because Facebook bursts sales of individual products only when he wants.
What is the rate of execution of ads Newsfeed?
Three months ago, Facebook boasted how he was going to make money from ads in the News Feed. The company said it had a total of $ 4 million per day in investing in rivers by the end of the quarter, and $ 3 million was from mobile ads Wire ' news.
The market loved the doorway, and the stock of Facebook has spent the last 90 days up to its IPO price on the belief that the company could monetize its growing mobile audience.
Unfortunately, this time, Facebook says nothing about the revenue it mocks in units of six months. And on the basis of statements made Ebersman last quarter, it seems that Facebook will not share the execution rate of the News Feed ads moving forward. This is not funny.
We get it, though. Some analysts got a little carried away with their calculations. Facebook said it made 23 percent of its advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of mobile, which equates to about $ 306 million. Some companies such as Macquarie Equities Research used in the last quarter annualized be projecting a much higher figure mobile advertising revenues of $ 380 million.
The simple reality is that the lack of guidance implementation rate gives more flexibility and allows Facebook to leave need to show a significant increase in turnover of this unit.
Where is the CFO for the current quarter?
Public companies tend to share financial advice for the coming quarter to keep Wall Street expectations in check. It is a dance many do with the street, often one that can lead the direction of the park. Not to Facebook. The social network has shown once again that it does not intend to provide quarterly indicators, a decision that investors tend not to appreciate.
Why risk shit people who keep its share price afloat? Disappointing because these same people would be even worse. Facebook has no desire to be held responsible for a seasonal fluctuating and even he does not understand yet.
Instead of projections of revenue or earnings, Facebook said that spending will rise in the coming year. Total expenses, excluding stock-based compensation 'will grow about 50 percent in 2013, Ebersman said.
