Facebook’s investments in building out its empire beyond its original social network have pushed costs up by more than 80 per cent, squeezing margins in the first quarter.
The world’s largest social network is pouring money into its “family of apps”, which range from messaging app WhatsApp, acquired last year for $21bn, to photo-sharing app Instagram.
A hiring spree took its headcount up almost 50 per cent, while expenses were also lifted by stock-based compensation — much of it associated with the $21bn WhatsApp deal — and investment in physical infrastructure. Its longer term plans to connect the world to the internet through Internet.org and to develop virtual reality are also costing the company.