Facebook earnings: What Wall Street says about slowing growth

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEOPhoto by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Facebook on Tuesday reported revenue that missed Wall Street estimates and stalling user trends during the third quarter. Shares are up as investors had already prepared for even the worse. 

The social-media giant earned $1.76 a share, beating the $1.47 that was expected by analysts, according. Its revenue grew 33% year-on-year to $13.73 billion, but still missed the $13.8 billion that was anticipated. 

Meanwhile, Facebook said it had 1.49 billion and 2.27 billion worldwide daily and monthly active users, up from the 1.47 billion and 2.23 billion in the previous quarter. Notably, its daily average users in the US and Canada have flatlined since the Q1 2018 at 185 million.

The company also said it will invest more aggressively, and called for a 40- 50% operating expense growth in 2019 guidance.

Analysts across Wall Street were relieved that users didn’t flee the social network in droves after a string of scandals. But they have mixed opinions about Facebook’s long-term outlook.

Here’s what Wall Street is saying about the quarter:

Jefferies — ‘Not as spooky as feared, but ghosts remain’

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Price target: $200 

Rating: Buy

Wedbush — ‘Shares remain in the dog house’

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Price target: $220 (from $250) 

Rating: Outperform

Suntrust Robinson Humphrey —’We maintain a Buy rating’

Getty

Pivotal — ‘We see downside risks to operating expense relative to guidance’

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Price target: $125 (from $131)

Rating: Sell

“We see downside risks to operating expense relative to guidance because of what we think are continuing systemic problems that manifest themselves through an underinvestment in operating resources and efforts to mitigate risks caused by the platform,” said Brian Wieser at Pivotal.