$FB ---> Facebook's Doing Just Fine

Emphasis on the fine. Facebook (+7.7% after hours) divulged in its earnings report yesterday that it’s earmarked $3 billion to pay an expected Federal Trade Commission fine over privacy issues.

• The FTC launched a probe into FB following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
• The “matter remains unresolved,” but the final charge could be up to $5 billion.

That cut into FB’s profits, which totaled $2.4 billion on revenue of $15.1 billion. While Zuck’s top line number jumped 26% annually, earnings shrank and missed estimates. If not for the $3 billion set aside for the FTC, Facebook would’ve easily topped profit estimates.

Still, Zuck’s underlying business is doing...fine. Across its family of apps, Facebook tallied 2.7 billion monthly users and raked in an average of $6.42 in revenue per user, up 16% from a year ago.

Bottom line: Facebook is staring down an avalanche of scandals and international probes. But Zuck is like the Energizer Bunny—no matter how many memes we make of him, he just keeps winning ad dollars and adding users.