Facebook stock surge despite looming Apple’s privacy update which CEO Zuckerberg had feared could hurt his business – Mazech Media mazech.com

Facebook shares rose more than 4% on Friday following comments by CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday indicating a shift in his previous view of Apple’s looming privacy update.

The stock closed at $290.11, gaining more than 4% – the biggest one-day percentage gain since November, but still below its record closing price of $303.91 on Aug. 26, 2020.

Apple announced last year it will release a privacy feature as part of its iOS 14 update early this spring – an update Mark Zuckerberg complained would decrease Facebook’s ad revenue.

Apple’s planned update will ask users permission for apps to track them for advertising purposes, but Facebook accuses the iPhone maker of anticompetitive behavior and hurting the social media giant’s ad-targeting business.

Zuckerberg, however, changed his stance during an interview on Josh Constine’s PressClub Clubhouse room. When asked about Apple, he said;

“I’m confident that we’re gonna be able to manage through that situation.”

“We’ll be in a good position. I think it’s possible that we may even be in a stronger position,” he added.

“Facebook generally overstates the challenges it faces, not understates,” Ryan Jacob, manager of the Jacob Internet Fund told Bloomberg News. “If Facebook is saying this is more of a speed-bump than a hurdle, that would be encouraging.”