Why Facebook Shares Skyrocketed Like Never Before

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of social networker Facebook (NAS: FB) have skyrocketed like never before, up by as much as 24% after the company posted third-quarter earnings last night.

So what: Revenue jumped 32% to $1.26 billion, including $1.09 billion from its advertising business with the remaining $176 million coming from its payments platform. Non-GAAP net income came out to $311 million, or $0.12 per share. Operating margin declined to 30% due to a large increase in costs.

Now what: Much of the optimism today relates to the fact that 14% of ad revenues were generated from mobile platforms, addressing what is perceived as Facebook's biggest weakness. The company started rolling out mobile ads in March of this year. Mobile ad sales were roughly $150 million this quarter, so they're off to a strong start. Facebook now has over 1 billion monthly active users, of which 604 million use its mobile products.

After the world's most hyped IPO turned out to be a dunce, most investors probably don't even want to think about shares of Facebook. But there are things every investor needs to know about this company. We've outlined them in our newest premium research report. Read up on whether there is anything to "like" about the company today, and we'll tell you whether we think Facebook deserves a place in your portfolio. Access your report by clicking here.

The article Why Facebook Shares Skyrocketed Like Never Before originally appeared on Fool.com.

Evan Niu, CFA, has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook and has the following options: long JAN 2014 $20.00 calls on Facebook. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Facebook. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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