Facebook beat analysts' estimates for quarterly Revenue and forecast similar growth ahead, as businesses tapped its digital ads tools despite an unprecedented boycott and the economic upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook shares jumped 7% in extended trading after the world's biggest social network posted revenue growth of 11%, its slowest ever but still far above analysts' expectations of 3 percent, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Advertisement earnings, which contribute almost all of Facebook's revenue, climbed 10 percent to $18.3 billion in the next quarter as individuals under lockdown spent more time online and companies quickly pivoted to e-commerce. Monthly active users climbed to 2.7 billion, before estimates of 2.6 billion.

The results were a boon for Facebook per day after its Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, took sharp jabs at a US congressional hearing. Mr Zuckerberg was one of four platform CEO's grilled by Congress on what some see as abuses of market power.

On a call with investors, Facebook executives seemed notes of defiance about both demands for competitive regulation and the July marketing boycott, which sought to pressure Facebook to take actions against hate speech.

Zuckerberg said that he had been"troubled" by calls for "go after" targeted advertisements online. Is that really what policymakers want in the middle of a pandemic in recession?

In addition, he pushed on the boycott's aims, saying there was a gulf between "how the vast majority of people actually experience our services and the impression you get if you're just reading much of the commentary about Facebook."

The business appeared unscathed by the campaign, which attracted the aid of major advertisers such as Unilever, Starbucks Corp and Coca-Cola Co.

Facebook said advertising sales from the first 3 months of July grew 10 percent year-over-year, in accord with the rate for the second quarter, and estimated that advertising revenue growth in the next quarter would be consistent with that quicker than Wall Street estimates.

The boycott was joined by Approximately 1,100 firms. Though some were one of Facebook's biggest human spenders, the bulk of Facebook's advertisement revenue comes from small businesses.

Mark Zuckerberg said observers "wrongly assume that our business is dependent on a few large advertisers."

"MAJOR ROLE" FOR INSTAGRAM

Investors were bracing for difficulties in the second quarter, which was the first to reflect the entire effect of lockdowns. Facebook stated in April it was seeing indications of this quarter after a dip in March.

Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at eMarketer, said she believed Facebook unit Instagram played a "major role" in helping the company withstand the impacts of the pandemic.

"Although Facebook doesn't release details about Instagram's revenue, we believe that Instagram has been a rapidly growing contributor to the company's total revenue, and that its success is helping to buoy Facebook as a whole," she said.

The business fared better than Google, the world's largest seller of online ads, which beat expectations but not by an excellent amount. Alphabet's quarterly earnings fell for the first time in its 16 years as a public company.

Facebook tempered expectations for later in the year, stating privacy changes being released by mobile device makers like Apple could interfere with the data sharing it utilises to serve personalised ads.

Such"aggressive platform policies" could"cut a lifeline" for small companies, Facebook's CFO, David Wehner, cautioned.

Total costs and expenses increased 4% to $12.7 billion in the second quarter, compared with the $12.5 billion analysts had forecast. The business was recruiting including hires its most on record, in the quarter.

Net income came in at $5.2 billion, or $1.80 per share, in the three months ended June 30. A year before it made $2.6 billion, reflecting a $2 billion charge associated with a privacy settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

Analysts had expected a profit of $1.39 per share.

The team at Platform Executive hope you have enjoyed this news article. Initial reporting via our content partners at Thomson Reuters. Reporting by Katie Paul in San Francisco and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Elizabeth Culliford in Birmingham, UK. Editing by Matthew Lewis and Leslie Adler.

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