IT Blog

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc (FB.O) said on Tuesday the coronavirus outbreak was undercutting sales of the advertising that accounts for nearly all of its revenue, even as more users spend time on the social network during virus-related lockdowns.

“We don’t monetize many of the services where we’re seeing increased engagement, and we’ve seen a weakening in our ads business in countries taking aggressive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” the company said in a statement.

Facebook shares fell about 1% after hours following an 8.7% rise in regular trade.

The company said messaging across its platforms had increased more than 50% over the last month in many of the worst affected countries. In Italy specifically, users have been spending 70% more time in its apps.

Group calling with three or more participants increased by over…