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Facebook ( FB ) completely dominates the app field, taking a 60% market share in February, led by its WhatsApp and Messenger properties. Alphabet ( GOOGL ) followed Facebook in app downloads, with YouTube being the most popular, according to an analysis by Nomura. Netflix ( NFLX ) also showed impressive strength, while Spotify outpaced Pandora Media ( P ). “With apps representing about 80% of total time spent on mobile, the importance of app trends is difficult to understate,” wrote Nomura analyst Anthony DiClemente in a research report. “App user trends have major implications for industry and company-specific shifts in consumer behavior, and ultimately advertising spend trend.” User engagement trends are leading indicators of mobile ad spending. DiClemente estimates mobile ad spend should reach $75 billion globally in 2016, growing 44% year over year. Alphabet and Facebook scored big in a recent survey of advertisers, receiving the highest budget allocations and the best return on investment of digital media properties. DiClemente examined 14 of the most prominent social apps on both the Apple ( AAPL ) and Alphabet Android operating systems. The apps covered were downloaded a total of 217 million times in February. In the analysis, using data from SensorTower , DiClemente said Facebook properties held the top four spots in the global app download ranking and comprised a full 60% of the 217 million downloads. WhatsApp and Messenger held the top two spots, with nearly 40 million downloads each. For comparison, the Facebook flagship app was downloaded 30 million times in February, while Instagram posted 22 million downloads. Messenger is generally stronger in the U.S., while WhatsApp remains the preferred messaging service internationally, DiClemente said. “The strength of Facebook’s app portfolio reinforces our view that Facebook maintains a user growth and monetization runway,” DiClemente wrote. YouTube was by far the most popular suit of apps by Alphabet. It was downloaded 12.5 million times, far outpacing Google Gmail. But many Google apps come preloaded on Android phones and likely understates Google’s prominence, DiClemente wrote. Following YouTube, music sharing site Spotify tied with Netflix, with both showing 7.9 million downloads. Spotify competitor Pandora had 5.3 million downloads. Pandora still leads in the U.S., but Spotify is beating Pandora by 75% in global downloads. At Netflix, international downloads surpassed domestic totals following January’s expansion into 130 countries. Alphabet and IBD 50 company Facebook carry best-possible IBD Composite Ratings of 99. Both were up more than 1% in midday trading in the stock market today , with major stock indexes up. Image provided by Shutterstock . Scalper1 News
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