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Facebook trends all pointing up as social media group cruises past forecasts

Last updated: 19:16 27 Jul 2017 AEST, First published: 17:29 27 Jul 2017 AEST

Facebook
Looking for new ad space opportunities

Social network giant Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) delighted its investor/followers as it cruised past profits estimates in its latest quarter.

Expectations had been high with the shares soaring in recent months, but the US firm more than satisfied its fans.

Sales were US$9.32bn, compared to forecasts of US$9.2bn, while profits jumped 71% to US$3.9bn.

Mobile ads accounted for 87% of its advertising revenue of $9.16bn, up from 84% a year ago, while there was an increasing contribution from recent acquisition Instagram.

Monthly active users has climbed by 17% at the end of June to just over 2bn, with two thirds of those active daily.

Founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said it had been a good quarter, but faced a growing problem due to a lack of ad space on its core newsfeed.

One option was for different advertising formats within Facebook's platforms, added chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, such as shorter ads for some brands.

Zuckerberg reaffirmed the group’s commitment to its Messenger service, adding Facebook would get it right over the long term.

Shares rose 3.3% in after-hours US trading to US$165.61, marking a gain of 43% this year so far.

Shares in the regular session added aolmost 6% to $175.28.

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