Facebook Is America’s Fastest Growing Company

Advancements in internet access, computer processing power, data storage capacity, and other technological developments around the world have helped fuel rapid growth in Silicon Valley and in companies across the U.S. tech sector.

To determine the fastest growing companies, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the most recent three-year annual revenue changes of S&P 500 companies. Facebook grew the most of any company, from $5.09 billion in revenue in fiscal 2012 to $17.93 billion in fiscal 2015. Based on its 252.3% revenue growth in the last three years, Facebook is America’s fastest growing company.

Facebook earns a majority of its revenue through advertising. The major driver of revenue growth in recent years has been mobile advertising revenue, which grew from 65% of Facebook’s total revenue in 2014 to 77% in 2015. An average of 934 million users a day accessed Facebook on a mobile device in December 2015, up 25% from December 2014.

Over the three years ending in December 2015, Facebook reported the fastest growth in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in India. Daily active users in the region more than doubled, from 153 million in December 2012 to 309 million in December 2015, while average daily active users in the U.S. and Canada grew by 25% over the same period. Facebook also posted significant growth in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, where average daily active users grew from 161 million in December 2012 to 319 million three years later.

In addition to growing its user base at a steady pace, Facebook is also increasing the revenue it generates from each user. Over the past year, the company has added live video, personalized notifications, and the ability to hide an ex-partner’s Facebook activity from a user’s newsfeed. The changes have generated an increase in personal data, allowing the company to more effectively use targeted advertising towards its users.

The average revenue Facebook generates per user grew the most in the U.S. and Canada. The company’s average revenue per user in the U.S. and Canada was $13.54 in the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of 125% from $6.03 per user three years prior, and far higher than the average of $4.50 per user in Europe, $1.59 per user in Asia-Pacific, and $1.22 in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Resources: 247wallst.com