Facebook revenues to hit $4.27bn this year

Facebook’s global revenues are expected to reach $4.27 billion in 2011, up from $2 billion in 2010, according to eMarketer.

Revenues from Facebook Credits are expected to reach $470 million in 2011, up from $140 million last year, eMarketer estimates, while Facebook will earn $3.8 billion worldwide this year in advertising revenue, up 104% from $1.86 billion in 2010.

Ads, which represented an estimated 95% of Facebook’s total revenue in 2009, will fall to 89% of total revenue this year, eMarketer estimates. Revenue from Facebook Credits will grow to 11% of the company’s total revenues in 2011, compared to 7% in 2010.

“Facebook’s revenue streams will continue to diversify, with ads representing a decreasing proportion of total revenue while other sources such as Facebook Credits will grow,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst.

While eMarketer’s previous forecast from January 2011 had estimated Facebook would earn $4.05 billion worldwide in ad revenue this year, “this slight revision downward for 2011 should not be taken as a sign that Facebook’s overall business is losing momentum,” said Williamson.

eMarketer estimates Facebook will slightly surpass earlier expectations in 2012, earning an estimated $5.78 billion worldwide in ad revenue that year.

Facebook is expected to earn $2.01 billion in US ad revenues in 2011, eMarketer estimates. The company’s share of the $12.33 billion US display ad market will reach 16.3% in 2011. eMarketer’s estimates for US display ad revenue at Google, Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo! were not affected by this forecast.

*eMarketer forms its estimates for advertising spending on Facebook through a meta-analysis of estimates of consumer usage, marketer usage, ad pricing, and impressions on Facebook, as well as revenue estimates from research firms and other sources. eMarketer also conducted interviews with industry executives who provided perspective on Facebook’s advertising business and revenues.