In its Q3 2013 earnings call, Facebook reported that 48 percent of users are accessing the social network only via mobile. During that same time period, 49% of the company’s $2.02 billion in ad revenue came from mobile. That figure represents an 8% increase from Q2, in which mobile ad revenues accounted for 41% of Facebook’s total ad revenue.

With Facebook’s Q4 earnings report out yesterday and indicating that 53% of ad revenue came from mobile, it’s clear that Facebook’s mobile ad revenue now outpaces desktop revenue. The tipping point has finally arrived.

AdParlor Data

AdParlor is one of only 13 companies world-wide designated as a Strategic Preferred Marketing Developer (sPMD) on Facebook. Our clients include e-commerce companies, mobile game developers, and large brands.

We consistently observe mobile growth in tandem with Facebook. With respect to mobile, here are the key trends we observed in 2013:

  • 41% of Facebook’s Q2 revenue came from mobile; at AdParlor, 36% of revenue came from mobile in that same quarter.
  • In Q3, Facebook saw mobile revenue jump to 49% while AdParlor increased to 46%.
  • In Q4, 53% of Facebook’s ad revenue came via mobile; AdParlor experienced an inflection point in Q4, with 55% of revenue coming from mobile.

Facebook vs. AdParlor % of Revenue from Mobile by Quarter - Q4 2013

Accelerated spend against Mobile App Install Ads

Digging deeper into our Q4 Facebook mobile revenue, 68% came specifically from the Mobile App Install ad unit. We saw strong performance among e-commerce and mobile gaming advertisers who have continued to ramp up spend on this particular ad unit, driving new users to their mobile apps across iOS and Android devices.

Overall Growth of News Feed

With the News Feed being the most engaging ad placement on Facebook, a larger percentage of our client’s ads were placed in the mobile and desktop News Feed. The News Feed drove the highest engagement and the best ROI regardless of the objective and the vertical. In Q4, 85.5% of AdParlor’s revenue came from ads placed in the News Feed.

AdParlor % of Revenue from News Feed (incl. Mobile and Desktop Feed) by Quarter - Q4 2013

Mobile was at the heart of Facebook’s growth and AdParlor’s growth in 2013. In Q4, we witnessed the inflection point where a clear majority of our quarterly revenue went mobile. In 2014, we’ll be eagerly watching to see how much more powerful mobile will become.