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Will Facebook's (FB) Video Efforts Pay Off in Q4 Earnings?

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Facebook’s growing video initiatives are expected to lend better support to its fourth-quarter 2017 results, scheduled to be released on Jan 31.    

Advertisers prefer video advertisements as these appear to be the most lucrative medium to attract the audience. Hence, growth in video consumption on Facebook’s platform bodes well for the company.

As video ads generate more revenues than its photo and text-based counterparts, Facebook’s strategy to incorporate more and more video-oriented content to bring in more ad dollars is likely to drive top-line growth.

Notably, the company has witnessed significant traction in online and mobile advertising spending. In the third quarter of 2017, ad revenues grew 49% year over year to $10.1 billion while mobile ad revenues surged 57% to $8.9 billion.

Click here to know how the company’s overall Q4 performance is expected to be.

Video Push

Facebook has taken a number of initiatives this quarter to capture the opportunity presented by ever-increasing video viewing on social media platforms. We note that the company has been improving its scope of monetization through video views on its platform.

Facebook is aggressively promoting “Live” in order to boost its top line. Moreover, per the company, interactions and comments are 10 times more for live videos compared to other videos.

In November, the company launched Creator App and a website for creators, which will assist them to “find resources and tips on how to create great videos, connect with fans, and grow on Facebook.”

Facebook also unveiled two tools — Sound Collection and the 360 Community Page — for video editing in an attempt to help creators grow with the platform.

Last month, it announced changes in video policies, which include distribution of videos on the platform, ad breaks and testing of pre roll ad format. Facebook also revealed that it has tweaked News Feed ranking, which will “help surface videos people are proactively seeking out and coming back to on Facebook.”

Two new metrics that include Ad Break impressions and Ad Break CPMs at the video level have been introduced by Facebook to help advertisers gauge the performance of ads.

The company is also encouraging longer videos, spanning a minimum three minutes. Publishers will be able to insert advertisements after a minute’s gap. Previously, ads were placed after a gap of 20 seconds in a video with a minimum duration of 90 seconds. The company also struck a deal with Universal Music Group to make videos more attractive.

Facebook also increased investments in producing more video content for the Watch tab, launched in August last year, exclusively dedicated to video viewing.

All these factors are expected to increase user engagement and attract more advertisers to the platforms, thereby giving a significant boost to its top line.

Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Facebook carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Micron Technology Inc. (MU - Free Report) , Lam Research Corporation (LRCX - Free Report) and The Trade Desk Inc. (TTD - Free Report) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #1.

Long-term earnings growth rate for Micron, Lam Research and The Trade Desk is projected to be 10%, 14.85% and 25%, respectively.

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