Facebook is slated to report second-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, with Wall Street eyeing a big jump in revenue as the social network’s online advertising business continues to strengthen.
Here’s what else investors can expect to hear from CEO Mark Zuckerberg:
Earnings:
Facebook is seen posting a profit of 32 cents a share, compared with a net income of 19 cents a share in the year-earlier period, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.
Revenue:
The Menlo Park, California-based tech company is expected to report revenue of $2.8 billion, up 55 percent from $1.81 billion in the year-ago period.
Stock reaction:
Facebook rallied in April when the company reported first-quarter results that blew past Wall Street’s expectations. The stock has continued climbing since, and was last up 16 percent in the last three months, and 25 percent year-to-date.
Key areas to watch:
Analysts generally expect Facebook to release a solid report, highlighted by robust gains in its mobile ad business, which made up 59 percent of total ad revenue in the first quarter.
“We believe the digital advertising industry is growing faster than previously expected and Facebook continues to gain share,” Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia told clients in a note.
Wedbush analyst Shyam Patil also said “checks and industry data points continue to suggest healthy spending trends for Facebook’s advertising business for the second quarter,” and the social media giant’s focus on the FIFA World Cup tournament may have helped give the company a lift.
Investors and analysts will likely focus on the future, monitoring information about other potential growth areas.
These include video ads, Facebook’s plan to cash in on Instagram’s huge user base and speculation that it’s eyeing a big push into e-commerce, which received more attention with news that it’s testing a new “Buy Now” button on the site.
Patil of Wedbush affirmed an outperform rating for Facebook shares, as he cited the company’s “high growth and margin profile as well as the likelihood of continued upside from improving monetization, video ads, and Instagram.”