Facebook released a fourth quarter earnings report this afternoon that will make many investors very happy. Analysts were expecting good things, but the numbers beat those rosy predictions. Revenue was $2.585 billion, up 63 percent year-over-year and above the $2.33 billion that had been pegged. Earnings per share (Non-GAAP) hit 31 cents, also above expectations of 27 cents.
The company had strong growth in the fourth quarter and Facebook’s stock has been rising in after-hours trading and is currently up nearly 5 percent from its close at $53.53.
Advertising revenue was $2.34 billion in Q4, which is an increase of 76 percent over the Q4 2012. Payments and other fees accounted for $241 million in revenue in the fourth quarter.
Average revenue per user rose significantly quarter-over-quarter to $2.14 from 1.72. In the US & Canada, that number topped $6.03, up from $4.85 in Q3 and $4.08 in Q4 2012.
Net income (GAAP) for the quarter was $523 million, up from $425 in Q3 and just $64 million in Q4 2012.
Huge Mobile Gains
Mobile continued to perform strongly for the company, delivering 53 percent of Facebook’s total ad revenue. That’s up from just 23 percent for Q4 2012.
Monthly active users (MAU) rose 16 percent to 945 million. While nearly half (46 percent) of Facebook’s revenue still comes from North America, user growth is clearly coming from international. North American users now make up less than a quarter of the total daily active users (DAUs).
Mobile daily active users reached 556 million, up from 507 million in the third quarter of 2013. And, not surprisingly, the number of mobile-only users is also growing. In Q4 there were 296 million mobile-only users, up from 254 million in Q3, and just 157 in Q4 2012.
“It was a great end to the year for Facebook,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO in the earnings release. “We’re looking forward to our next decade and to helping connect the rest of the world.”
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