Facebook released its second quarter earnings Wednesday. It beat expectations with $29 billion of revenue.This quarter was expected to see $27.8billion in revenue, which is a 50% increase over the period in 2020. Facebook also reported earnings per share at $3.61 which was higher than expected. In the same quarter last year, revenue totalled $18.6 million.Facebook exceeded user growth expectations in the first period that really reflected a return of quasi-economic normality after an online pandemic. Facebook had 2.85 billion monthly active users at the end March across its apps network. Facebook reported 2.9 billion active monthly users at the end of its second trimestre, which was roughly what was expected.On Wednesday morning, shares of the company opened at $375 and fell to $360 after the earnings report.Facebook warns of changes ahead, namely the impact on its huge ad business which generated $28.5billion of the $29billion this quarter. Privacy-focused updates to Apple's mobile operating system were specifically mentioned by the company as a threat to their business.The company's investor report forecast stated that we continue to expect increased advertising targeting headwinds in 2021 due to regulatory and platform changes.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke out at the company's investor conference. He highlighted Facebook's plans to lessen its dependence on ad revenues, and cited the companys increased efforts to support content creators, and its ecommerce plans. Zuckerberg stated that they want their platforms to be the most lucrative place for creators to earn a living. He also said that the company will monetize creator tools beginning in 2023.Zuckerberg also highlighted Facebook's ambitions for VR social experiences. Zuckerberg stated that virtual reality will be a social platform and why Facebook is so focused on its development.In the call, Zuckerberg also noted Facebooks prospects for monetizing digital goods like clothing and avatars in virtual-reality-based social networks. Facebook refers to its concept of a metaverse, an interconnected network of virtual social networking networks. This corporate nod is to Neal Stephenson's 1992 futurist sci fi novel Snow Crash.Facebook is a financial giant, regardless of what it plans to report Wednesday. Bad press and mistrust from users in the West have not affected the company's bottom line. The company's ad business remains as dominant as ever. Facebook is unlikely to be stopped by a significant antitrust reform in America or an aggressive competitor. The former may still be difficult to achieve due to the partisan gridlock in Congress and the White House, but Facebook is now facing a threat from both the former.It has been hard to imagine a social platform that could compete with Facebook for years. This is due to Facebook's market dominance, brazen copying of their innovations and bad habit of buying competitors. But it seems that TikTok is becoming just that. YouTube is huge but both platforms have developed in parallel and can coexist offering complementary experiences.According to Sensor Tower data, TikTok reached 700 million monthly active users in July 2020. It also surpassed three billion global downloadings earlier this month. This makes it the only non-Facebook app to achieve that feat. The famously addictive short-form video app might be able to siphon some of the time young users spend on Instagram and other social media platforms, and provide a home for brands.
