Facebook Ad Revenue To Lose On Apple Privacy Changes

Ahead of Facebook Inc.'s financial results on Monday, the social media giant is expected to be hurt more than others in big tech by Apple Inc.'s iPhone privacy changes, investors fear, after Snap Inc. missed revenue targets last week, Sheila Dang and Nivedita Balu reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Facebook on an iPhone 12

The Apple privacy updates, which began rolling out in April and prevent advertisers from tracking iPhone users without their consent, have had investors in digital ad companies on edge for fear that reduced access to data would upend the nearly $100 billion mobile ad market.

Snap confirmed fears on Thursday when it reported the Apple changes hurt its ability to measure whether its ads led to website visits or sales, and a measurement tool provided by Apple did not perform as well as expected.

Snap's shares fell 25% and dragged down shares of Facebook, Twitter Inc, and Alphabet Inc., which all earn revenue by selling digital ads.

There can be "no more denying" the ramifications of Apple's privacy push, Ygal Arounian, managing director of internet equity research at Wedbush Securities, said in a research note after Snap's results.

Facebook, the second-largest digital ad platform in the world after Google, is most likely to see a hit compared with its tech peers, Evercore ISI analysts said in a research note.

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