Facebook quarterly earnings were amazing. Zuckerberg isn't cheering

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What matters?

Image: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

By Kerry Flynn2017-11-01 20:33:18 UTC

Facebook just had an incredible past three months for making money, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg's tone isn't that celebratory. 

"Our community continues to grow and our business is doing well," Zuckerberg said in a statement. "But none of that matters if our services are used in ways that don't bring people closer together."

"We're serious about preventing abuse on our platforms. We're investing so much in security that it will impact our profitability. Protecting our community is more important than maximizing our profits," the statement continued. 

It's quite a heavy statement from the CEO and cofounder of one of the world's most profitable companies that just achieved another profitable quarter—and saw its stock price reach a new record high.

Facebook brought in $10.3 billion over the last three months, a 47 percent increase from the year prior. It also now has more than 2.07 billion monthly active users. Facebook employs 23,165 people, a 47 percent increase from the year prior. 

But Zuckerberg's solemn tone comes as no surprise. For the last two days, U.S. lawmakers have scrutinized Facebook over the Russian propagandists that used its platform to spread politically divisive content during the 2016 election. 

“I think you do enormous good, but your power sometimes scares me,” Sen. John Kennedy said Tuesday. 

Facebook along with Twitter and Google have avoided regulation for the most part from the U.S. government. Now, lawmakers have a bill called the "Honest Ads Act" that would require internet companies to keep a public database of who is paying for political ads. But they're still debating what to require. 

"We are not going to go away, gentleman. And this is a very big deal," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein during the hearing with Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. "You have a huge problem on your hands."

Zuckerberg, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, and Chief Financial Officer David Wehner will speak on a conference call with investors and analysts at 5 p.m. 

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