Facebook first quarter earnings up despite threat from Apple update

The company's revenue rose to $26.17bn as it continues to blast Apple for a policy that will make it more difficult to target ads to users

Facebook earnings beat analyst expectations Wednesday, but the company warned growth later this year could significantly" decline as new Apple privacy policies will make it more difficult for the social media giant to target ads to its users.

The positive earnings report for Facebook was bolstered by pandemic-driven traffic and ad sales and comes despite a number of roadblocks for the company in previous months. Those include the Apple operating system update that threatens its advertising revenue, a slew of antitrust hearings in the US Congress, and reports of a 2019 data leak that had affected millions of users.