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 Shares of Facebook were up nearly 3 percent at $63.05 in after-hours
trading on Wednesday.
Facebook said that mobile ads represented 59 percent of its ad
revenue in the first quarter, up from 30 percent in the year-ago
period. Facebook's overall revenue grew 72 percent year-on-year to
$2.5 billion in the first quarter, above the $2.36 billion expected
by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"They've got the right products for what advertisers are looking for
and that's manifesting itself in the results you're seeing," said
JMP Securities analyst Ronald Josey.
Facebook's newsfeed ads, which inject paid marketing messages
straight into a user's stream of news and content, have ignited
Facebook's revenue growth and bolstered its stock price during the
past year. The ads are ideally suited for the smaller-sized screens
of smartphones and other mobile devices.
The world's No.1 Internet social network said its total number of
monthly active users reached 1.28 billion as of March 31, with 1.01
billion of those users accessing its service on mobile devices such
as smartphones and tablets.
Facebook's users spent more time on its service, with roughly 62.7
percent of its monthly users accessing the site every day, compared
to 59.9 percent in the year-ago period.
Facebook also announced that Finance Chief David Ebersman is
resigning to pursue an unspecified opportunity in the healthcare
industry, where he worked before joining Facebook in 2009. Ebersman,
who will remain with the company through September, will be replaced
by David Wehner, Facebook's vice president of corporate finance and
business planning.
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Ebersman saw the company through a rocky initial public offering in
2012 that was plagued by technical glitches with the Nasdaq stock
exchange and concerns about what was then slowing revenue growth.
Since the IPO, Facebook has regained Wall Street's favor thanks to
its strong mobile ad business.
Ebersman's departure appears to have been part of a planned
transition, said JMP's Josey.
The company said it earned $642 million in net income, or 25 cents a
share, in the first quarter, versus $219 million, or 9 cents a share
in the year ago period. Excluding certain items Facebook said it
earned 34 cents a share in the first quarter, versus 24 cents a
share expected by analysts.
Shares of Facebook have more than doubled during the past 12 months
but are off 13 percent from a 52-week high of $72.59 in mid-March.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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