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Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg slammed rival Apple for his “ selfish and anti-competitive ” privacy changes, the day the social network announced that its profits rose 53% last year from 2019 .
Facebook benefited in 2020 from the fact that more people were at home during the pandemic and saw an increase in the use of their platforms.
But CEO Zuckerberg is sounding the alarm bells about upcoming changes to Apple that could threaten his company’s future dominance.
Facebook’s results for the last quarter of 2020, reported on Wednesday, came as Apple announced that it had also had an exceptional year, with revenues of more than $ 100 billion in the three months leading up to the end. of the month of December.
Only a handful of companies, including Walmart, have ever reported quarters of $ 100 billion, while Amazon is expected to break that hurdle in its report next month.
But Apple’s profit margins are projected at around 23%, or about five times those of the two retailers.
Apple plans to make a software change that will give iPhone and iPad users a clearer opportunity to opt out of ad tracking for online advertising, a big part of Facebook’s cake.
Zuckerberg also believes Apple is positioning iMessage to overtake Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
“iMessage is a key part of their ecosystem,” Zuckerberg said during the earnings call, according to CNBC. “ It’s pre-installed on every iPhone and they prefer it with APIs and private permissions, which is why iMessage is the most widely used email service in the United States. ”
Apple’s new policy will prohibit the collection and sharing of certain data unless people agree to tracking on iOS 14 devices, via a prompt when they download the app.
Zuckerberg had harsher words to say about Apple’s business practices.
Mark Zuckerberg’s company made $ 28 billion in profits in the last quarter of 2020
“ Apple has every interest in using its dominant position on the platform to interfere with the functioning of our apps and other apps, which they regularly do to prefer theirs.
“ Apple can say they are doing this to help people, but the movements are clearly following the interests of their competition. We and others are going to be facing this for the foreseeable future.
Facebook still had a lot to celebrate on Wednesday, posting a profit of $ 11.2 billion on revenues of $ 28 billion in the last three months of 2020.
The California-based company’s revenue rose 33% to about $ 28 billion in the quarter.
On Apple, Zuckerberg had some harsh words about their upcoming software changes. Pictured: Apple CEO Tim Cook
Their apps – Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp – have seen a 14% increase in the number of monthly active users, with 3.3 billion people, or nearly half of the world’s population, using them.
After an initial drop in advertising in March, Facebook business exploded as more people purchased products online during the pandemic, executives said.
“We had a strong end to the year as individuals and businesses continued to use our services during these difficult times,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
But the 36-year-old company warned there could be challenges ahead, with the “ evolving regulatory landscape, ” including Apple software changes.
“ We also expect to face stronger ad targeting headwinds in 2021, ” CFO David Wehner said in a statement.
“This includes the impact of platform changes, notably iOS 14, as well as the changing regulatory landscape.
“While the timing of iOS 14 changes remains uncertain, we expect to see an impact from the end of the first quarter.
Facebook warned that pressure from governments could change their financial futures
The 36-year-old said he remains optimistic about the next year for the company
Dozens of states and the federal government sued Facebook last month, alleging the social media giant abused its dominance in the digital marketplace and engaged in anti-competitive behavior.
This month, the social media giant removed Donald Trump and many of his allies from their sites after the Jan.6 attack on Capitol Hill, accusing him of inciting violence.
Zuckerberg said he was optimistic for the year ahead.
“I am excited about our product roadmap for 2021 as we build meaningful new ways to create economic opportunity, build community and help people have fun,” he said.
Analysts said the results showed the resilience of the Palo Alto company.
“Despite the negative publicity and antitrust affairs, it seems like nothing can stop what is arguably the world’s most important advertising platform,” said Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at Investing.com.
Apple, meanwhile, ended 2020 with its most profitable quarter of all time, with $ 111.4 billion in sales generated by people upgrading their technology to work from home.
Apple said on Wednesday it exceeded $ 100 billion in quarterly revenue
On Wednesday, they announced results for the first quarter of fiscal 2021, ended December 26, 2020.
Profits rose 29% to $ 28.76 billion in the three months ended Dec.31.
Apple shares are up 81% in 2020 and around 7% through Wednesday.
IPhones revenue grew 17% year over year, with $ 65.60 billion in sales.
Apple released four new iPhone 12 models in October – the first to include 5G.
Investors believe this has created a “super cycle” of users clamoring for an upgrade. The new iPhone has helped sales increase by 57% in China, which has a more developed 5G network.
“ They’re packed with features that customers love and they arrived at exactly the right time, where the 5G networks were, ” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO.
Tim Cook’s iPhone 12 launch, pictured, helped boost Apple’s profits
In the United States, the average retail price of the iPhone has risen to $ 873 from $ 809 a year ago, driven by buyers switching to more expensive versions, according to a survey of Consumer Intelligence customers. Research Partners LLC.
A mini iPhone 12 starts at $ 699, while the bigger and more expensive iPhone 12 Max starts at $ 1,099.
Apple’s other product category, which includes Apple Watch and headphones like AirPods and Beats, grew 29% from last year to $ 12.97 billion, even though people are spending less time commuting and traveling.
Apple released a high-end headset, AirPods Pro Max, in December with a hefty suggested price of $ 549.
Macs and iPads, Apple devices most likely to be used for remote work and school, also increased this quarter.
Cook said sales would have been higher had the pandemic not forced stores to close.
“We couldn’t be more optimistic,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
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