What's going on?

Facebook reported an impressive increase in sales, profits and active users after the stock market closed on Wednesday. Investors sent shares up as much as 5% right after the news (in post market-trading).

What does this mean?

Facebook, which already has a huge reach and massive revenues, is still growing at a mammoth clip � revenue was up 41% versus the same period last year (a $1.3 billion increase). Daily active users topped 1 billion � meaning that, for advertisers, Facebook represents a World Cup final every day!�

Why should I care?

1. The bigger picture: A confirmation that tech investors love growth. As we saw with Twitter, a tech company that isn�t growing its user base gets punished. Facebook�s costs increased even faster than its revenue, rising 68% over the same period, but investors don�t seem to mind. They are, perhaps, viewing those �costs� as �investments� in future profits centers.
2. For the stock: The stock price hit an all-time high. Investors seem pretty pumped about these results, which beat expectations that were already pretty aggressive. More importantly, perhaps, is that over the longer term Facebook still has businesses that it has yet to monetize, namely Whatsapp and the intriguing virtual reality division, Oculus. Also, it is only just starting to make money from Instagram. So while its ad revenue shoots to new heights, investors are likely betting that it will develop new sources of profits in the coming years.