Tech

Facebook made an average of $6.18 off each user in Q4, more than double three years ago

Key Points
  • Facebook makes an average of $6.18 from each of its users in Q4.
  • The company reported on Q4 earnings on Wednesday.
  • In that report, it disclosed "average revenue per user," commonly shortened to ARPU on Wall Street.
Firsthand Capital's Kevin Landis: Facebook under pressure from being a powerful platform
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Firsthand Capital's Kevin Landis: Facebook under pressure from being a powerful platform

All that scrolling really ads up when it comes to Facebook's bottom line.

The company reported Q4 earnings on Wednesday, where it showed "average revenue per user"— commonly shortened to ARPU on Wall Street — hit $6.18, up from just over $5 over the summer.

That's double the company's ARPU at the end of 2014, when it was $2.81.

But most of Facebook's money still comes from users in the U.S. and Canada, where that number is even higher: $26.76 per user.

Facebook makes money by showing users advertisements — think of those sponsored videos from brands, or the little ad boxes on the bottom right-hand side of the screen. Other companies pay for that space on your Facebook feed, and to filter who sees each ad based on each viewer's interests or "likes."