Facebook, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) and its investors have dealt with plenty of animosity in 2018, but up to this point the company’s high-growth online advertising business has been mostly unscathed. Investors are hoping that trend continues when Facebook reports its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon, and analysts are expecting more big numbers from Facebook.
Consensus Wall Street estimates are calling for FB stock to earn $1.72 per share in the second quarter. Analysts are expecting $13.3 billion in revenue, up 43.5 percent from a year ago.
Investors will be also be watching to see if Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, which was implemented in the second quarter, had a significant impact on Facebook’s business.
Despite constant negative press surrounding the fallout from Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data scandal and the changes Facebook made to its platform, Facebook’s advertising business continues to grow. FB stock is up another 19 percent year-to-date to new all-time highs, and GBH Insights head of technology research Daniel Ives says there are no signs of a slowdown heading into Wednesday’s report. Ives says Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg passed their public grillings by U.S. and European regulators with flying colors.
By Wayne Duggan,