Many were shocked when Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014. For a seemingly hefty price of $19 billion, many observed that for the same amount, Facebook could have bought a slew of other more established companies.
However, it now appears that Mark Zuckerberg’s judgment on WhatsApp’s future potential was right all along. In the recent Facebook 2017 Q4 earnings call, Zuckerberg revealed that the messaging platform experienced an explosive growth in terms of user base and now boasts 1.5 billion monthly active users.
In fact, WhatsApp is so popular that the messaging app’s 1.5 billion users send a total of 60 billion messages daily. This means that on average, each user sends around 40 messages each day.
What’s even more surprising is that WhatsApp only had 1.3 billion monthly users in July of 2017. Just six months later, the app managed to lure in another 200 million active users, growing by 15 percent. Whatsapp has also gone unmatched by its rivals who only posted minimal growth within the same time frame.
Now that Whatsapp is starting to find new ways to monetize its growing user base, it will likely be even more valuable to the Facebook group in the coming months. For instance, it recently launched the WhatsApp Business app which is aimed at addressing the communication needs of small businesses. Analysts predict that the app will generate revenue by charging for business tools in the near future.
But ultimately, the value of Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp goes even beyond its massive user base. When Facebook bought the app, it also assured its absolute dominance in the messaging business.