The number of people using Facebook monthly increased 17 percent to 1.86 billion Facebook blew past Wall Street's expectations yet again with its quarterly earnings report, despite some concerns that its "ad load," or the number of advertisements it can show users without clogging up their feed, has reached its limit.
Facebook on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $3.56 billion, up sharply from $1.56 billion in the same period a year earlier.
On a per-share basis, the Menlo Park, California-based company said it had net income of $1.21, up from 54 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $1.41 per share in the latest quarter.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.34 per share.
The social media company posted revenue of $8.81 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Eleven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $8.47 billion. That's up 51 percent from revenue of $5.84 billion a year ago.
Shares rose $3.08, or 2.3 percent, to $136.31 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed up $2.91, or 2.2 percent, at $133.23 in the regular trading session.
As of Wednesday's close, Facebook Inc. shares had increased 16 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased almost 2 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $133.23, a rise of 16 percent in the last 12 months.
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