Facebook Building Momentum With Q1 Earnings

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 12, 12:28AM EST · Published Apr 25, 4:45PM EDT

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Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) reported first quarter financial results after markets closed Wednesday. The company said that it had $1.69 in earnings per share (EPS) on $11.97 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $1.35 in EPS on $11.41 billion in revenue. The same period from last year had $1.04 in EPS on $8.03 billion in revenue.

During the quarter, daily active users (DAUs) totaled 1.45 billion on average for March 2018 , an increase of 13% year-over-year. Separately, monthly active users (MAUs) totaled 2.20 billion, an increase of 13%.

Mobile advertising revenue represented roughly 91% of advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2018, up from approximately 85% of advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2017.

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Earlier this month, Facebook increased the amount authorized under its share repurchase program by an additional $9.0 billion. The board of directors originally authorized repurchases of up to $6.0 billion of its Class A common stock under the repurchase program, and this increase is incremental to the original authorization.

The company did not offer any guidance for the second quarter. However, there are consensus estimates that are calling for $1.63 in EPS on $12.91 billion in revenue for the coming quarter.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, commented:

Despite facing important challenges, our community and business are off to a strong start in 2018. We are taking a broader view of our responsibility and investing to make sure our services are used for good. But we also need to keep building new tools to help people connect, strengthen our communities, and bring the world closer together.

Shares of Facebook closed Wednesday at $159.69, with a consensus analyst price target of $216.06 and a 52-week range of $144.42 to $195.32. Following the announcement the stock was up 5% at $167.69 in the after-hours session.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.