Facebook Inc Stock Hits $70 High Heading Into Earnings

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Traders appear to be pretty confident about Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Shares in the company traveled over the $70 barrier for the first time since March on today’s market, just as the company heads toward the announcement of its earnings for the last quarter. Shares were up 2.33% for the day’s trading at time of writing.

After a positive picture of the online advertising market was painted by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) earlier in earnings season, it seems that Facebook is being expected to beat the expectations levied on it by market commentators. According to Factset Wall Street is expecting Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) to show earnings of 32 cents per share for the quarter it records as its second of fiscal year 2014.

Facebook shares head for all time high

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) hit an all time high of $72.59 per share after it revealed its last earnings report to a jubilant market. The intervening period hasn’t been quite as kind to the company’s investors, but today’s trading drove the shares up above $70 for the first time since that release. The company’s shares have gained close to 30% since the year began, and traders don’t seem to want to slow that momentum.

At time of writing shares in the company were trading for $70.88 per share, up 2.33% for the day’s trading. This earnings season has been positive almost across the board, and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) exposure to advertising spending likely makes it a major beneficiary of a better environment for corporations. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) managed to show revenue growth of 22% when it reported its numbers last Thursday. Analysts are expecting even more than that from Facebook.

Facebook business easy as market explodes

Digital advertising is becoming an explosive growth market, despite how mature it may feel to long term Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) investors. The constant increase in the number of dollars heading into the business is a boon to every single company operating in the business, but as growth slows, which it will have to do eventually, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) will finally have to fight the ad giant for revenue.

Right now Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is beating Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) massively in both desktop and mobile. The Menlo Park efforts in mobile have, however, made it an actual competitor to the search giant in that market. Analysts will be looking especially closely at Facebook mobile revenue in this afternoon’s earnings report. If the company can chip away at Google market share while the pool is expanding, its business may be easier to manage when the market is finally saturated.

The key places where analysts will be looking for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) to show traction include the company’s video ad business, its image uploading property Instagram and its most recent big buy WhatsApp. If Mark Zuckerberg’s team shows it’s plans for these three major pillars of mobile strategy are working, the company’s shares may beat their all time high tonight. If the company misses out, however, the recent rise in value could result in a collapse in value.

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