What happened
Shares of Facebook (META -10.56%) climbed 8.2% to a new closing high of $253.67 on Friday after the social media leader delivered better-than-expected second-quarter results.
So what
Facebook's revenue rose 11% year over year to $18.7 billion. That was well ahead of Wall Street's estimates. Analysts had expected revenue of $17.4 billion.
The gains were driven by a 12% rise in both daily and monthly active Facebook users, to 1.8 billion and 2.7 billion, respectively. Across its entire family of apps, which includes Instagram and WhatsApp, Facebook's daily and monthly active users increased by 15% and 14%, respectively, to 2.5 billion and 3.1 billion.
Facebook's stock hit a record high on Friday. Image source: Getty Images.
Facebook said it gained users as people sheltered in place during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis. Many of these people used Facebook as a key communication tool with family and friends.
This user growth -- combined with heightened e-commerce sales, which boosted demand for Facebook's advertising services among small businesses -- also helped to drive the company's profits sharply higher. Facebook's operating income surged 29% to $6 billion, while its earnings per share (EPS) soared 98% to $1.80. Analysts had expected EPS of only $1.39.
Now what
Facebook continues to face a host of challenges, including an ad boycott by some of its largest advertisers, who are attempting to pressure the social media platform to strengthen its efforts to halt the spread of misinformation and hate speech. Yet despite these challenges, Facebook continues to deliver solid growth. The company expects revenue to grow by 10% in the third quarter.
