Facebook 3Q Earnings Increase, Stock Fluctuates As Teen Users Decrease

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is ready to move forward to the next phase, according to the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg after achieving strong financial results for the third quarter. However, the stock price of the company fluctuated and eventually went down slightly to $48.99 a share after hours on Wednesday.

It seems that investors got worried after the social network giant admitted that the number of its daily teen users decreased. “Our best synopsis on youth engagement in the U.S. reveals that usage of Facebook among U.S. teens overall was stable from Q2 to Q3. So we did see a decrease in daily users specifically among younger teens,” said David Ebersman, chief financial officer of Facebook.

Ebersman emphasized that Facebook remained fully penetrated by teen users in the United States. Its monthly user number is steady and the overall engagement is still strong. He explained that the social network giant’s age estimates for its younger users lack accuracy, but the company decided to share its observation because they receive many questions about teens. He added that Facebook will continue to continue to focus developing products and services to boost engagement for all ages.

 Financial Status

During the third quarter, Facebook generated $425 million GAAP net income or $0.17 diluted earnings per share compared with its $59 million net loss or $0.02 losses per share in the same period last year.

Its revenue increased by 60% from $1.26 billion in the third quarter a year earlier to $2.02 billion. Facebook said its advertising revenue was $1.80 billion, up by 66%. According to the company, its mobile advertising revenue accounts approximately 49% of its total advertising revenue. During the previous quarter, its mobile advertising revenue was 41%. The company generated $218 million revenue from payments and other fees.

Facebook reported that its GAAP operating margin climbed from 30% in the third quarter last year to 37%.  The company’s costs and expense went up by 45% to $1.28 billion due to infrastructures and additional employees. Its capital expenditures were $284 million. The social network giant ended the quarter with $9.33 billion cash and marketable securities.

User Growth

The social network giant’s daily active users (DAUs) increased by 25% to728 million while its monthly active users (MAUs) rose by 18% to 1.19 billion on an annual basis. Facebook’s mobile (MAUs) were 874 million, up by 45% year-over-year.