Facebook earned $188,000 per employee in the second quarter of the year, thus being one of the most profitable companies in the Silicon Valley over the three-month period ending June 30. According to the company’s consolidated financial report for Q2 2017, its work force is currently 20,658 people strong, with the firm posting $3.89 billion in net income for the quarter. This amounts to $188,304 in profit per employee or almost four times more than what Microsoft — the second most efficient U.S. tech company by this metric — has posted. Facebook is also earning four times more per employee than what Alphabet does and is even more efficient when compared to Verizon, the largest mobile service provider in the United States.
The Menlo Park, California-based social media giant increased its work force by 43 percent in the last 12 months, yet its profit per employee is still surging, having amounted to $157,503 in the second quarter of 2016. The list of U.S. tech giants’ profits per employee was originally compiled by Recode but isn’t the ultimate proof of Facebook being the most profitable company in the country based on this metric since it excludes a number of high-profile names that may be even more efficient. Possibly the most notable omission from the list is Apple, as the Cupertino, California-based original equipment manufacturer (OEM) doesn’t provide its investors with a quarterly head count update, making its performance in this segment hard to track in an accurate manner. Regardless, the report indicates that Facebook is still one of the most profitable companies in the country and has managed to maintain its impressive performance despite hiring thousands of new employees in the last year.
Facebook’s revenue per employee is also the largest out of all the tracked companies, with the firm recording close to $500,000 in this segment and only Alphabet coming close to that figure over the second quarter of the year. Facebook co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg previously warned investors that the firm’s performance may drop off in the future as efficiently monetizing its still-growing user base is becoming harder, though the social media giant is still expected to maintain its impressive growth in the short term.