Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) released its earnings report for the three months through September this afternoon after the market closed in New York. The company showed earnings per share of 25 cents for the quarter, which Facebook recorded as its third of 2013. Revenue for the period came in at $2.02 billion. On today’s market shares in Facebook trended down to finish trading at $49.02.
The 37 Facebook analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were looking for earnings per share of 18 cents from the company in this afternoon’s earnings report by consensus. The consensus figure for revenue came to $2.2 billion. In the same three months of 2012 Facebook managed to earn 12 cents per share on revenue totaling $1.3 billion.
Facebook earnings
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is weighed down by high expectations, and that means the market is expecting quick and substantial growth in the coming years. The firm is expected to earn 73 cents per share for the full year 2013.
The full year 2012 saw the company bring in around 53 cents per share. Analysts are expecting earnings to accelerate going forward. 2014 is expected to see the company earn 98 cents per share. Companies with that kind of growth expectation can have a hard time when their plans don’t work out, even in the short term.
Facebook performance
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has performed incredibly well on the stock market in 2013. The company’s stock has risen by more than 85% since the year began, and investors finally appear to have forgiven the social network for its IPO problems. The increase in value has left Facebook shares looking a little highly valued, and that can mean volatility after an earnings release.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is trading at more than 185 times 2012 earnings. If Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) does not continually deliver the kind of growth it promises, the company’s investors are likely to get nervous. Facebook operates in a highly competitive industry; it’s behind in terms of technology, and nobody is sure what kind of moat the service really has.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has an exciting couple of years ahead of it, and it is going to have to fight tooth and nail to make its advertising comparable to that offered by Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and others. The firm’s executives will host a conference call at 5 PM EST in order to discuss today’s numbers. Analysts and investors will be interested in the company’s guidance and its mobile outlook.