Apple iOS privacy updates, which now require consent from users to track their iPhone activity for advertising, have compressed Facebook’s third-quarter results, with expectations the impact will continue into the next quarter at least.
Mark Zuckerburg’s company, which is in turmoil on several fronts, still expects fourth quarter total revenue to be somewhere between US31.5 billion and $34 billion, though they cite the continuing impact from Apple’s updates as an issue for them.
“Our outlook reflects the significant uncertainty we face in the fourth quarter in light of continued headwinds from Apple’s iOS 14 changes, and macroeconomic and COVID-related factors,” Facebook say in an earnings update.
“In addition, we expect non-ads revenue to be down year-over-year in the fourth quarter.”
Facebook are also expecting imminent losses through their own motions to expand their “metaverse” with Facebook Reality Labs.
“We are dedicating significant resources toward our augmented and virtual reality products and services, which are an important part of our work to develop the next generation of online social experiences,” Facebook says.
“We expect our investment in Facebook Reality Labs to reduce our overall operating profit in 2021 by approximately $10 billion.”
