META Meta Platforms Inc

By WSJ City 

Facebook is scheduled to report first-quarter results after the market closes Wednesday. Here are the key points to watch:

KEY NUMBERS

--- Revenue: Analysts expect earnings of just under $15bn. That would be a 25% year-on-year increase.

--- Earnings: Analysts expect profit to fall 5.9% to $4.69bn from $4.99bn.

Family Dynamics

Last quarter Facebook announced that it intends to eventually shift toward reporting usage statistics across its 'family of apps,' including WhatsApp and Instagram, despite the facts those apps have differing growth rates and profitability. That would soften the impact of stagnation in the Facebook's platform's core usage numbers.

Money in Messaging

CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in March that Facebook would integrate the messaging systems of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and increasingly focus on businesses related to private, encrypted messaging. He hasn't yet suggested how such a business would make money -- but today's call might shed light on that.

What Regulatory Trouble?

Though critical media coverage and increasing government scrutiny in both the US and European Union have been hard on Facebook's executives, analysts are still waiting to see any fallout in the company's earnings. User numbers on the company's core platform grew solidly last year.

A fuller story is available on WSJ.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 24, 2019 07:51 ET (11:51 GMT)

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