14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook is one of the largest websites on the planet, with close to 500 million users. It’s becoming a dominant force online, yet its revenue is nowhere close to that of other players its size. Previous, unofficial numbers pegged Facebook revenue for 2009 at above 500 million and even that sounded optimistic at one point. But new reports indicate that the figure may be closer to $800 million, higher than any previous estimate.
According to a report by Reuters, citing a couple of sources with knowledge of the situation, Facebook brought home between $700 million and $800 million in revenue last year. That’s higher than any previous number put forth and higher even than some estimates for 2010 revenue, which were at about $700 million. Newer estimates were at $1 billion, though. Facebook has never released official revenue numbers and declined to comment on these numbers as well.
However, Facebook has said that the company became cash-flow positive sometimes last fall, which means that it has been able to cover all of its running costs with the revenue it brought in. This falls in line with the new report that says that the company was profitable in 2009, with the net profit being in the tens of millions.
Apparently, Facebook wants to downplay these numbers in order to keep expectations low. Since it doesn’t really need any more investors and has said that an IPO is not in the short-term plans, there’s no reason to boast its performance.
The sources also claim that 2009’s revenue was double what the company made in 2008. If that trend continues, Facebook should easily pass the $1-billion mark and possibly hit $1.5 billion in revenue this year. As the company ramps up its advertising efforts and consolidates its dominant position, revenue should be increasing at a high rate in the coming years. Still, it’s got some catching up to do to match the kind of revenue Google, the company Facebook is compared with the most, brings in. The search company made about $24 billion in 2009.