Facebook posts 4Q profit, results top Street expectations

MENLO PARK, Calif. – MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) _ Facebook Inc. (FB) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $696 million.

On a per-share basis, the Menlo Park, California-based company said it had profit of 25 cents. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and amortization costs, were 54 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 49 cents per share.

The social media company posted revenue of $3.85 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Analysts expected $3.79 billion, according to Zacks.

Facebook shares have declined nearly 2 per cent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has decreased nearly 3 per cent. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $76.65, an increase of 39 per cent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FB at http://www.zacks.com/ap/FB

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Keywords: Facebook, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings