Facebook's ongoing efforts to monetize its ever-growing mobile user base may be paying off, as shares in the company were up today on reports that Facebook is further along in its mobile efforts than many expected. Facebook shares rose more than two percent today when a research report from Wedge Partners claimed that the social network was seeing some successes in turning its mobile user base into a revenue generator. Shares in the company closed today at $19.88, down 48 percent from its May 17 initial public offering.
The Wedge Partners report, according to Bloomberg, noted that mobile advertising on the social network was still in its early stages but that it might be nearing a positive inflection point. Facebook's ad revenues have not been keeping up with the rapid growth of its mobile user base, and the company has struggled to convince investors that it will actually be able to turn those users into cash generators.
Facebook has previously tried a number of routes toward monetizing its mobile base, including opening its mobile ad platform to third-party ad sellers and moving toward offering mobile-bought gifts. Most of the social network's active users are accessing the service through mobile devices at least some of the time, and the company's inability to solidly capitalize on these users has negatively impacted its share price since it first became publicly available.
