Facebook shares soar after crushing earnings — again
Social network sees revenue growth of a surprising 59%, sending stock up 5% in after-hours trading
Facebook crushed earnings again on Wednesday, delivering the fastest rate of revenue growth in two years — a whopping 59%.
Topping Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines, the giant social network continued an impressive earnings streak and maintained its status as one of technology’s big success stories.
“Our community and business had another good quarter,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
You can say that again. Facebook generated $6.44 billion in revenue in the second quarter, beating Wall Street estimates. Facebook has exceeded quarterly estimates all but once since its May 2012 initial public offering. Analysts expected Facebook to generate $6 billion in second-quarter revenue, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, up from $4.04 billion during the same period a year earlier. Mobile represented 84% of $6.24 billion in advertising revenue.
Advertisers are flocking to Facebook and its photo-sharing app Instagram. As of June 30, Facebook says it had 1.71 billion monthly active users, up 15% year over year. Some 1.13 billion users logged into Facebook at least once a day in the same period, up 17% year over year. The bottom line: Two-thirds of Facebook users are on the service every day.
Profit is growing, too. In the second quarter, Facebook reported net income of $2.06 billion, or 71 cents a share, compared with $719 million or 25 cents a share a year ago. Facebook posted earnings per share, excluding certain expenses, of 97 cents. Wall Street expected Facebook to report earnings per share, excluding certain expenses, of 82 cents, compared with 50 cents a year earlier.
“There’s pretty much no sign of weakness anywhere in these numbers,” eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said.
The performance stands in contrast to Twitter, which delivered a big miss on revenue and guidance Tuesday.
Facebook reported second-quarter results after the market closed on Wednesday. Shares rose 5% in extended trading.
Zuckerberg singled out Facebook’s growing bet on video with Facebook Live, its streaming video product, and 360 Video. Facebook is angling for a slice of television ad budgets.
“We’re particularly pleased with our progress in video as we move towards a world where video is at the heart of all our services,” Zuckerberg said.