Boston, MA 12/31/2013 (wallstreetpr) – Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has refrained from commenting on sensational reports which emerged from London last week that the social networking site was ‘dead and buried’. The study by the University College London discovered that exodus of youth from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) was bigger than had been reported before. And for this reason, the giant social networking site was having no future.
A lot of investors have been treated to such news for the better part of 2013. Amazingly, when Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) reports its earnings, there is nothing to suggest a dent in its earning figures due to exit of youth. In fact, the company routinely posted earnings growth throughout 2013. Also, it reported adding more users to its network in the year than any in the recent times.
Where is the truth?
There is no denying that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) itself has admitted reduced youth activity in its network. But, it seems that the impact of this change is negligible, or better still, it is exaggerated.
It was always going to happen that as more senior citizens continued to identify with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), the young people would shy out. For this reason, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) acquired Instagram and has been transforming it into an alternative platform for teens seeking privacy in their social networking activities. The app continues to receive more users as it acquires facelift to bring it to the level of Snapchat and WhatsApp which are already doing very well among the young people.
According to the latest study by Pew Research Center, a sizable number of teens leaving Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) end up in Instagram and this means that there is no real loss in user-count for the company.
Performance
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) performed largely beyond expectation in 2013. The company’s stock is up significantly to trade around $54 per share, having gained from the bottom of $17.78 per share in September 2012.
The company also continues to stand head and shoulder above its main rival Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) in terms of user-count and revenue. In any case, while Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is already returning good profits and dividend to shareholders, Twitter is yet to see a profit for its seven years in business.
