For the second quarter in a row, Facebook (META 0.43%) is getting a big "like" from investors after trouncing estimates. The company reported its Q3 results today, posting revenue of just more than $2.0 billion, almost 60% higher than the $1.3 billion in the same period the previous year. Net income almost doubled, to $621 million ($0.25 per diluted share) from Q3 2012's $311 million ($0.12).
Analysts had expected revenue of $1.9 billion and EPS of $0.19.
Many of the social networking giant's key operating metrics saw strong gains. The site's daily active users were 728 million, on average, this past September -- a 25% increase over the September 2012 number. Growth in mobile monthly active users was particularly robust, increasing 45% on a year-over-year basis to 874 million as of September 30. Overall site MAUs rose 18% to 1.19 billion across that stretch of time.
Advertising revenue, meanwhile, grew by 66% from Q3 2012 to reach $1.8 billion. The bulk of that remains of the traditional variety, however -- roughly 49% of the tally was from mobile advertising.
Following the announcement of the results, the company's stock is up by almost 10%, or $4.74, to $53.75 in after-hours trading.
