Facebook Inc. Beats Earnings Estimates

Written by Michelle Jones

Facebook (FB) released its third quarter earnings report after closing bell tonight, posting non-GAAP earnings of 57 cents per share or $1.63 billion and $4.5 billion in revenue. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 52 cents per share on revenue of $4.37 billion. In last year’s third quarter, the social network reported earnings of 43 cents per share or $1.15 billion and $3.2 billion in revenue.

Facebook posts solid results

GAAP earnings were 31 cents per share or $896 million, compared to last year’s GAAP earnings of 30 cents per share or $806 million. GAAP operating margin fell from 44% to 32%, while non-GAAP operating margin fell from 57% to 54%. Total ad revenue was $4.3 billion, while payments and other revenue was $202 million.

Mobile ad revenue made up about 78% of Facebook’s total ad revenue, compared to 66% last year. Wall Street was looking for $930 million in desktop ad revenue and $3.25 billion in mobile ad revenue. Payments and other revenue was expected to be at $205 million for the quarter.

“We had a good quarter and got a lot done,” Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “We’re focused on innovating and investing for the long term to serve our community and connect the entire world.”

Free cash flow was $1.41 billion, while capital expenditures were $780 million. Cost of revenue rose from $565 million to $720 million.

Facebook posts strong user growth

Facebook reported 1.01 daily active users, a 17% increase from last year, and 1.55 billion monthly active users, a 14% increase. Wall Street wanted Facebook to report 1.5 billion monthly active users. The social network had 894 million mobile daily active users, a 27% increase, and 1.39 million mobile monthly active users.

Shares of Facebook  edged upward by as much as 3.81% to $107.90 per share in after-hours trades after ending the regular trading hours up by 1.33% at $103.94 per share.