Strong third quarter earnings, weak guidance

Facebook reports $3.2 billion revenue for the quarter compared with a Wall Street consensus of $3.12 billion. Advertising revenue is $2.96 billion, up 64% from a year earlier, and EPS is $0.43 versus an expected $0.40. Monthly active users were 1.35 billion, up 14%, mobile monthly active users were 1.12 billion and daily active users were 864 million. Zuckerberg and Wehner give weaker guidance: full-year total GAP expenses including stock compensation may grow 45%-50% while 2015 expenses could be up 50%-70%. They say this is an ‘investment year’. Zuckerberg:

We’re going to prepare for the future by investing aggressively