Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) shares rose more than 3% on Thursday after the company posted strong earnings results last night. The tides were turning after last night’s decline on the social network’s acknowledgement that daily use among young teens is falling. The stock blew up 15% after the earnings announcement but lost steam after the admission made on the investor conference call.
Facebook smashes expectations
For the third quarter, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s revenue was $2.02 billion, compared to consensus estimates of $1.91 billion. Ad revenue was $1.8 billion, and mobile ad revenue was 49% of overall revenue or about $881 million, greatly exceeding expectations. Payments revenue was $218 million. Adjust earnings were $1.26 billion, and adjusted earnings per share were 25 cents, compared to Wall Street’s consensus of 19 cents.
The social network reported that global monthly active users increased 18% year over year and 3% quarter over quarter to 1.19 billion. Global daily average users were up 25% year over year and 4% sequentially to 728 million. Daily average users were 61.2% of monthly average users, compared to 60.5% in the previous quarter. Mobile monthly average users rose 45% year over year and 7% sequentially.
Facebook acknowledges declines among teen users
On Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s investor call last night, the company acknowledged that it saw a decline in daily users among “younger teens.” However, it said that overall teenage use of its social network was “stable.
The company has repeatedly defended itself against claims that teenagers just weren’t that interested in Facebook any longer. Some analysts agreed, saying the evidence was anecdotal at best. This is the first time Facebook management has admitted that there might be an issue.
Other notes from Facebook’s investor call
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) also said it was going to increase the number of ads in users’ timelines even more, calling into question just how many ads users will accept before they decide to quit using the social network.