Facebook 2009 Revenue Said to Be as High as $800 Million
Mark Zuckerberg
Kim White/Bloomberg
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer of Facebook, gives a keynote address at the annual F8 developer conference in San Francisco.
Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer of Facebook, gives a keynote address at the annual F8 developer conference in San Francisco. Photographer: Kim White/Bloomberg
Facebook Inc., the world’s most popular social-networking service, had revenue of $700 million to $800 million in 2009, topping earlier projections, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The company had expected to post at least $500 million in 2009 sales, Facebook director Marc Andreessen said in July. The person who cited last year’s results declined to be identified because the numbers haven’t been public.
With more than 500 million users, Facebook has become a magnet for advertisers such as Starbucks Corp. and Procter & Gamble Co. The Internet company last year doubled sales staff to cope with a rising tide of advertisers, which has more than quadrupled since 2009 began.
Facebook, based in Palo Alto, California, has emerged as the largest U.S. site for display ads. Its market share rose to 16 percent in the first quarter, from 11 percent in the fourth quarter, according to ComScore Inc. The site had 519.1 million users in April, up from 411 million in September, Reston, Virginia-based ComScore said.
Facebook said in September that it was generating positive cash flow, a milestone that often means a company has high enough sales to cover operating expenses and capital spending requirements. The company said it reached that point earlier than expected.
Jonathan Thaw, a spokesman for the company, declined to comment. Facebook’s 2009 revenue figure was reported earlier by Reuters.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco at bwomack@bloomberg.net
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