Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB)
Facebook Earnings
Today after the market closed, Facebook Inc. (FB) announced earnings that smoked analyst estimates and sent shares sky rocketing in the after market session to highs of $109.30 after closing the day down at $94.45, over a 13% move. The social media company announced a record net income of $1.5 billion or 79 cents per share on $5.8 billion in revenue compared to analyst expectations of 68 cents per share. FB also topped analyst expectations on user growth with 1.59 billion active monthly users, 14% growth year-over-year, versus analyst estimates of 1.58 billion. Much of the success was how FB expanded their advertising options to other outlets such as Instagram, which has a huge following. So far this earnings season there has been a lot of disappointments but this was one the best ones of the big names to report so far.
CEO Comments
“Overall, Q4 was a strong quarter and a great end to the year. More than 1.59 billion people now use Facebook each month and 1.04 billion every day. Our growth of nearly 200 million people monthly and 148 million people daily this year. More than 1.44 billion people use Facebook on mobile devices. And, when it comes to our business, we’re also pleased with our continued growth. Total revenue grew by 52% year-over-year to more than $5.8 billion, and advertising revenues grew by 57% to reach more than $5.6 billion. But, it’s important to consider not just our business results, but also how we’re improving the lives of people and communities around the world.” (TheStreet)
FB Technicals
Shares of FB skyrocketed in the post market to highs of $109.30, gapping shares up close to all time highs. This is a huge move and being that were so close to all time highs at $110.65 we could see some pressure to the downside with profit taking speculators selling the big move. Support will come in at $108 and $106 while resistance will be met at $109 and $110.65. There was ton of consolidation in the $106 range so that will be an important pivot point to keep your eyes on.
Looking back on the daily chart you can see that shares have been hit pretty good to start 2016 but this move will wipe out all those losses and put shares back in the green on the year. Shares had a nice bounce off the 200-day moving average currently sitting at $92.97 and are now trading above all major moving averages and close to all time highs. This stock will have increased volume and volatility, as everyone will be watching it today. Currently analysts have an average price target of $124.57 but after an earnings release like that we should be seeing upgrades come out soon.
Company Profile
Facebook, Inc. is a social networking service and website. Its website allows people to communicate with their family, friends, and coworkers. The company offers advertisers a combination of reach, relevance, social context, and engagement to enhance the value of their ads. Its services include timeline, news feed, messages, lists, ticker and mobile apps. Facebook was founded by Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris R. Hughes, Andrew McCollum and Eduardo P. Saverin on February 4, 2004 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA. (MarketWatch)
