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TC Roundup: Facebook paid $19 billion for WhatsApp, which lost $138 million last year

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Facebook paid $19 billion for WhatsApp, which lost $138 million last year: WhatsApp was far from profitable when Facebook shelled out roughly $19 billion for the messaging app in February, according to new SEC filings.

According to the documents, WhatsApp reported just over $10 million in revenue in 2013, and a total net loss of $138 million for the year. It should be noted a big part of that loss, about $98.8 million, comes in the form of stock-based compensation. Even then, the company's operating at about a $40 million loss, which isn't unusual for a startup. (Recode) Google launches Inbox app for Chrome, but it's just a glorified shortcut for now: Following the launch of Inbox on October 22, Google this week also quietly released a Chrome app for the service. You can download it now directly from the Chrome Web Store.

The app was first spotted by Inbox Guru, which incorrectly referred to it as an extension. In case you're not aware of the difference, extensions have little or no UI component and extend either the functionality of Chrome or the websites being viewed in it, while apps run inside the browser with a dedicated user interface to (hopefully) provide a richer experience.(Venture Beat)

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Twitter's slowing user growth mirrors Facebook's course: Twitter Inc. (TWTR)'s user growth is slowing at about the same pace as Facebook Inc. (FB)'s did when it was just as old, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The shares of Twitter fell almost 10 percent yesterday on investor concerns that it's too early for the company to face a deceleration. Twitter earlier this week reported its monthly active user base grew by 23 percent to 284 million in the third quarter. At about the same point in time -- six years after their respective debuts -- Facebook showed a similar trend with growth of 26 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. (Bloomberg)


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