Facebook’s stock rose on Friday after Mark Zuckerberg downplayed the risk that the social media giant faces in a future change in Apple’s privacy policies.
“I am confident that we will be able to deal with this situation,” he said in an interview in Josh Constine’s PressClub Clubhouse. “We will be in a good position. I think we may even be in a stronger position. “
The stock rose another 4 percent to close at $ 290.11 – its biggest one-day percentage gain since November. The stock also reached its highest intraday level since November.
The shares, however, are still almost 5 percent below the record closing price of $ 303.91 reached on August 26, the same day that Facebook posted a blog post that sounded an alarm about the impact that Apple’s changes would have in its targeted advertising business.
At issue is a code linked to Apple devices known as Advertiser Identification, which companies like Facebook use to target users and track ad performance. 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 spoken openly about concerns that this change will diminish Facebook’s ability to target ads to these particularly sought-after consumers, and the social media giant’s actions have suffered as a result.
Zuckerberg’s comments to PressClub on Friday downplayed how much Apple’s move could pose a risk to its revenue.
“Facebook generally exaggerates the challenges it faces, don’t underestimate it,” Ryan Jacob, manager of the Jacob Internet Fund, told Bloomberg News. “If Facebook is saying that this is more of an obstacle than an obstacle, that would be encouraging.”