First, the good news. According to Thomson Reuters estimates, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) quarterly earnings should clock in at $0.48 per share and revenues should be at $3.77 billion. Well, Facebook beat those estimates. Facebook’s reported earnings at $0.54 per share and $3.85 billion in revenues. Not bad. Not bad at all. Expect this positive performance to be rewarded by the market. With that said, I can’t help but worry about Facebook’s long-term game plan.
As the global economic figures begins to look gloomier, one has to wonder about the staying power of Facebook’s earnings. Another cause for concern is its mobile strategy. Now, don’t get me wrong-Facebook’s mobile earnings is increasing by leaps and bounds. It is obviously doing something right as far as mobile is concerned. The cause for concern is whether Facebook is mobile enough. Mobile is fast evolving towards a content-centered orientation. While this is bad news for OS- and hardware-centered players like Apple and Samsung, this can be the future game plan for companies like Facebook. However, is FB’s mobile content strategy nimble and powerful enough to take advantage of often slight changes in consumer preferences?
Digital consumer preferences are very much like landslides. They start out slowly. In fact, they are so slow that you might not even notice them at first. By the time you figure out what’s going on, it may be too late since you’re sliding down a hill. Facebook CEO Zuckerberg knows this. After all, this is the reason why he’s buying companies left and right. The question is: is acquisition enough? Maybe the way to remain relevant in the fast moving and fast evolving Mobile Age is a complete company reinvention every few years? After all, when it comes to the tech space, Andy Grove of Intel is spot on: only the paranoid survive.