Friday, November 6, 2015

"Ad Blocking" Threat Appears in Facebook 10-Q

For the first nine months of 2015 and 2014, advertising accounted for 95 percent and 92 percent , respectively, of Facebook’s revenue, which is why ad blocking could eventually be an issue.

“Technologies have been developed, and will likely continue to be developed, that can block the display of our ads, particularly advertising displayed on personal computers,” Facebook says in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Up to this point, Facebook says, “revenue generated from the display of ads on personal computers has been impacted by these technologies from time to time.”

“If such technologies continue to proliferate, in particular with respect to mobile platforms, our future financial results may be harmed,” Facebook notes. Of course, such statements, made in the “business risks” section of quarterly 10-Q filing are not unusual.

Those sections typically outline all the possible ways management believes the business could be negatively affected. Still, the specific mention of ad blocking is significant.

Any business reliant on advertising would be harmed by widespread consumer ability to block the majority of such ads.

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