Facebook’s
first-half revenue roughly doubled to $1.6 billion, underscoring the
world’s largest social network’s appeal to advertisers.
Net income in the first half of
2011 came to almost $500 million, according to a source, who wished to
remain anonymous because privately-held Facebook does not disclose its
results.
Facebook’s strengthening
results come as investors have pushed the company’s valuation to roughly
$80 billion in secondary markets, with many industry observers
expecting the company to go public in 2012.
With
more than 750 million users, Facebook has become one of the Web’s most
visited destinations by consumers who spend hours on the site every
month sharing photos and videos, and conversing with friends.
Its
popularity among consumers and advertisers has pressured entrenched Web
companies such as Yahoo Inc, whose board of directors fired CEO Carol
Bartz on Tuesday for failing to revive the company’s fortunes.
But
competition is heating up. Search leader Google launched a rival social
network in June that attracted more than 10 million users in its first
two weeks.
Facebook declined to comment on its financial results.
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