Social networking is big business — but still not big enough for some folks.
The latest leaked figures suggest that Facebook is on track to bring in $3.3 billion in revenue and $1 billion in net income for 2011. That’s double what it earned last year.
Still, the unofficial numbers lag some industry estimates that were calling for even more impressive growth. Research firm eMarketer projects Facebook will generate $4.27 billion in revenue this year.
EMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said her forecast includes $427 million that Facebook was expected to generate from its virtual currency, which members use to buy goods and play games through the site.
Aho Williamson said while advertising sales may be tracking with her projections, Facebook Credits may be underperforming. Indeed, investors see signs of slowing at Zynga, the maker of FarmVille and other popular games, which has adopted Facebook Credits as its payment system for games hosted on the site.
If Credits brings in less cash than expected, then advertising would account for almost all of Facebook’s revenue. On that basis, eMarketer’s estimate would be around $3.8 billion in sales.
In the first nine months of the year, Facebook had $2.5 billion in revenue and $714 million in profits, according to Gawker, citing a source.
Facebook, a privately held company that isn’t expected to go public until early next year, didn’t confirm the numbers.