A recent report from analyst firm ComScore said that unique U.S. visitors to Facebook (FB) dropped slightly in May compared with April and March. But an analysis of additional ComScore data suggests that the slowdown could be more significant and longer lasting. Falling traffic could be a concern to investors, who justify Facebook's high market value by pointing to its growth potential.
Unique visitors are an important measure of growth and activity for social networks and an indicator of whether users might be tiring of a site. According to Reuters, research firm ComScore said that the number of unique visitors was 158.01 million in May, down from 158.7 in April and 158.9 in March, which would represent a 0.6 percent drop. Year over year, the May number was up 0.5 percent, taking into account a change ComScore made in how it calculated traffic.
Over a six month period, however, my analysis of additional ComScore data shows that Facebook has seen a 4.8 percent drop in unique U.S. visitors. Facebook's growth prospects became a crucial issue in the company's disappointing IPO after news that a Morgan Stanley analyst had warned clients that the social networker's revenue outlook had dimmed. Tim Beyers, senior analyst at The Motley Fool investment site, said the news wouldn't necessarily k... [Read more]
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