Is There More To The Story Than Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) Earnings Growth?

Many investors consider it preferable to invest in profitable companies over unprofitable ones, because profitability suggests a business is sustainable. Having said that, sometimes statutory profit levels are not a good guide to ongoing profitability, because some short term one-off factor has impacted profit levels. In this article, we'll look at how useful this year's statutory profit is, when analysing Facebook (NASDAQ:FB).

While Facebook was able to generate revenue of US$79.0b in the last twelve months, we think its profit result of US$25.3b was more important. Happily, it has grown both its profit and revenue over the last three years, as you can see in the chart below.

View our latest analysis for Facebook

Importantly, statutory profits are not always the best tool for understanding a company's true earnings power, so it's well worth examining profits in a little more detail. This article will discuss how unusual items have impacted Facebook's most recent profit results. That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates.

How Do Unusual Items Influence Profit?

Importantly, our data indicates that Facebook's profit received a boost of US$5.0b in unusual items, over the last year. While we like to see profit increases, we tend to be a little more cautious when unusual items have made a big contribution. When we analysed the vast majority of listed companies worldwide, we found that significant unusual items are often not repeated. And, after all, that's exactly what the accounting terminology implies. Assuming those unusual items don't show up again in the current year, we'd thus expect profit to be weaker next year (in the absence of business growth, that is).

Our Take On Facebook's Profit Performance

Arguably, Facebook's statutory earnings have been distorted by unusual items boosting profit. Because of this, we think that it may be that Facebook's statutory profits are better than its underlying earnings power. But at least holders can take some solace from the 69% per annum growth in EPS for the last three. The goal of this article has been to assess how well we can rely on the statutory earnings to reflect the company's potential, but there is plenty more to consider. In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. For example - Facebook has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

This note has only looked at a single factor that sheds light on the nature of Facebook's profit. But there is always more to discover if you are capable of focussing your mind on minutiae. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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