NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook reports earnings and revenue handily surpassed Wall Street expectations for the final quarter of 2018 despite heavy spending on safety and security.
The social network has been plagued by privacy scandals and the threat of regulation. That, however, hasn’t stopped it from increasing profits and its user base. It now has 2.32 billion monthly users, up 9 percent from a year earlier, also inching past analyst expectations.
Facebook said Wednesday that it earned $6.9 billion, or $2.38 per share, in the October-December period. That’s up 61 percent from $4.3 billion, or $1.44 per share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $2.18 per share.
Revenue increased 30 percent to $16.9 billion, beating expectations of $16.4 billion.
Facebook’s stock is up nearly 7 percent after-hours as a result.