On Wednesday, Facebook announced that its recent overhaul of the News Feed algorithm caused users to collectively spend 50 million fewer hours per day on the service. Another worrying statistic: Facebook reported that daily active users fell in the US and Canada for the first time.

But Facebook also reported impressive fourth-quarter results despite the changes, which are designed to weed out content from media publishers and brand pages and instead promote posts that spur “meaningful” engagement like comments, rather than likes and shares.

On the earnings call Wednesday, the messaging from Facebook’s management was clear:

Decreased usage might actually be a good thing, leading to better ads with higher margins. It’s also good news for Facebook’s video product, Watch, which features high-quality videos produced by traditional media companies and Facebook itself.

“By focusing on meaningful interaction, I expect the time we all spend on Facebook will be more valuable. I always believe that if we do the right thing, and deliver deeper value, our community and our business will be stronger over the long term.” Mark Zuckerber

Facebook may be facing a reckoning for its role and influence on politics, media, and social well being, but Wall Street seems to be ignoring all that for now.

Source: Business Insider