Facebook shares jumped on Friday after Mark Zuckerberg downplayed the risk facing the social media giant in an upcoming change to Apple’s privacy policies.
“I’m sure we can handle this situation,” he said in an interview in Josh Constine’s PressClub Clubhouse. “We will be in a good position. I think it is possible that we are even in a stronger position.
Shares rose 4 percent to close at $ 290.11, their highest one-day earnings percentage since November. Shares also touched their highest intraday level since November.
Shares, however, remain nearly 5 percent below a record closing price of $ 303.91 on Aug. 26, the same day Facebook posted a blog post sounding an alarm about impact that Apple’s changes would have on its target advertising business.
In question, there is code related to Apple devices known as Advertiser ID, which companies like Facebook use to target users and track the performance of their ads. An upcoming update to Apple’s iOS14 operating system, which will arrive in early spring, will require users to choose to share this information with developers.
Investors have shown their vocation on the concern that this change will diminish Facebook’s ability to target ads to these much-sought-after consumers, and as a result, the social media giant’s actions have had problems.
Zuckerberg’s comments to PressClub on Friday downplayed the amount of risk Apple’s change could pose to its revenue.
“Generally, Facebook exaggerates the challenges it faces, and doesn’t underestimate,” Jacob Jacob, manager of the Jacob Internet Fund, told Jacob Bloomberg News. “If Facebook says this is more of an obstacle than an obstacle, it would be encouraging.”