Facebook sees earnings soar but forecasts challenges ahead

Facebook said its already enormous user base grew in the fourth quarter as people stayed home during the pandemic, and reported revenues buoyed by a shift to digital advertising amid coronavirus-related economic uncertainty. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Facebook capped a tumultuous 2020 with soaring earnings in the final quarter, but the company has forecast challenges in 2021 that include a coming privacy update by Apple that could limit the social network’s ad targeting capabilities.

The Apple move drew a rare public rebuke from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who during a conference call accused Apple of favouring its own interests and not those of users.