Facebook U.S. User Tally, Time Spent Online Rises

Facebook Inc. (FB)’s U.S. visitor tally rose in June, the first increase in at least three months, while the average time spent by each user also gained, according to research released today by ComScore Inc. (SCOR)

The number of U.S. unique visitors rose 1.1 percent to 159.8 million in June from May, following declines in each of the two preceding months, according to the Reston, Virginia- based researcher. Average time spent online increased 5.1 percent to 400.2 minutes, or more than six-and-a-half hours, after a gain of less than 1 percent the previous month.

Facebook, which held its initial public offering in May, is counting on continued growth in users and the time they spend on the site to boost demand for advertising. Most of Facebook’s revenue comes from spending on ads and about half of the total comes from the U.S. and Canada.

The owner of the world’s most popular social-networking service will release second-quarter results July 26, the first time since the Menlo Park, California-based company held its IPO in May.

The stock has struggled since its public debut at $38. Shares fell 1.6 percent today to close at $30.97, or 19 percent below the IPO price.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco at bwomack1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net