Facebook gains: mixed results, but shares up

The difficult year of Facebook continued on Tuesday as the social media giant failed to meet expectations regarding its latest quarterly results.

The company reported sales of $ 13.73 billion in the third quarter, below estimates of $ 13.78 billion. Monthly active users totaled 2.27 billion euros in the quarter, which is lower than an estimate of 2.29 billion euros and an increase of 2.23 billion euros in the three months precedents.

But the social networking giant also announced a quarterly net profit of $ 5.14 billion, or $ 1.76 per share, exceeding Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of the 15 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research indicated earnings per share of $ 1.46.

The benefits come as the company goes through a difficult year in which it has had to fend off regulatory threats and face a massive privacy breach and public dissatisfaction with its ability to stem misinformation before a new one. American election.

"Facebook was a darling of the market, but some are now seeing it as the embodiment of evil." Facebook has had more than its share of mishaps over the past year, with data scandals and accusations of bias, but that will also happen, "said Clément Thibault, a senior analyst at Investing.com, emailed.

Stocks fell 5% immediately following earnings release after normal trading hours, but then rebounded and rose about 1.3%.

In anticipation of the release of its results, Facebook's shares ended up 3% higher during trading in Tuesday's normal hours, closing at $ 146.22. They have declined by 35% since their record high of July 25, amid concerns about the non-use of the social network.

After an unpleasant surprise three months ago, investors were largely trying to avoid the repetition of its second-quarter revenue and slower growth and increased spending.

"Facebook is still a company with revenue growth, zero debt and multiple products rooted in people's daily lives, and the rumors of his death are, without a doubt, premature," added Thibault. "Over the course of a cycle, stocks are naturally going both ways in the eyes of investors."

Includes reports from the Associated Press