Facebook revenues soar despite $5.1bn in fines and new antitrust investigation

Two giant fines by US government agencies totaling $5.1bn could not derail Facebook’s financial juggernaut on Wednesday, as the company reported revenues of $16.9bn in the second quarter of 2019, exceeding analyst expectations.

The social media company’s regulatory concerns are by no means over, however. Facebook also disclosed on Wednesday that the FTC informed it in June that it has opened an antitrust investigation into the company. This follows the Department of Justice’s announcement of a broad antitrust review of online platforms on Tuesday.

The one-time costs of the two settlements depressed Facebook’s profits for the second quarter in a row – the company recorded a $3bn expense last quarter in anticipation of a major fine – but revenue growth remained strong, at 28% year-over-year.

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