“I’m confident that we’re gonna be able to manage through
that situation,” he said in an interview on Josh Constine’s PressClub Clubhouse
room. “We’ll be in a good position. I think it’s possible that we may even be
in a stronger position.”
The stock rose as much as 5.1% and was on track for its
biggest one-day percentage gain since November. The stock also touched its
highest intraday level since November.
At issue is a code linked to Apple devices known as
Identification for Advertisers, which companies like Facebook use to target
users and track the performance of ads. An upcoming update to Apple’s iOS 14
operating system, which will be rolled out in early spring, will require device
users to opt into sharing information to developers.
Investors have been concerned that this change will diminish
Facebook’s ability to serve ads to this sought-after category of consumers, and
the stock has struggled to advance in the wake of this issue. The stock is
about 5% below a record hit on Aug. 26, the same day Facebook published a blog
post where it warned about the impact Apple’s changes would have on its
targeted advertising business.
At a conference earlier this month, Facebook Chief Financial
Officer Dave Wehner said there was “significant uncertainty as to what the
opt-in rates are going to be,” and that the policy change is “going to be a
challenge in a variety of places.”
Zuckerberg’s comments seemed to diminish how much of a risk
Apple’s change could represent to revenue.
“Facebook generally overstates the challenges it faces, not
understates,” said Ryan Jacob, manager of the Jacob Internet Fund, which owns
the stock. “If Facebook is saying this is more of a speed-bump than a hurdle,
that would be encouraging.”
Separately, Morgan Stanley touted Facebook’s potential
within e-commerce, noting that more than 250 million monthly active users were
using Facebook’s Shops feature. “This traction speaks to the multi-year
optionality FB’s platform has to continue to drive outsized growth,” the firm
wrote to clients.
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