Facebook posted mixed first quarter 2015 results, with the company’s profit dropping 20% from the previous year to $512 million.
Facebook is spending $566 million on research and development, this is a huge increase from the previous year where the social networking company spent $181 million. It is expected that these costs will increase as it looks to expand some of its acquisitions such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
GAAP income from operations dropped in the first quarter to $933 million, down from $1.08 billion for the first quarter of 2014. While non-GAAP income from operations for the first quarter rose by 30% to $1.84 billion, compared to $1.42 billion for the first quarter of 2014.
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, said: "This was a strong start to the year. We continue to focus on serving our community and connecting the world."