Facebook exceeds estimates as Q3 revenue rises to $3.2bn

Strong demand for mobile ads helped Facebook's revenue to rise 59% year-on-year in the third quarter.

The social network giant saw revenue rise to $3.2bn in the third quarter, while the site's monthly active users grew steadily, to 1.35bn from 1.32bn in the second quarter and 1.19bn in the corresponding period in 2013.

Daily active users, the people Facebook says are most engaged, and therefore more valuable, grew to 864m, compared with 829m in the previous three months and 728m in the same period in 2013.

Facebook reported a profit of $806m up from $425m in the third quarter of 2013 and, excluding share-based compensation and other items, earnings rose to 43 cents a share from 27 cents, exceeding analysts' estimates of a per-share profit of 40 cents.

The group said that the percentage of advertising derived from mobile devices increased to 66%, compared with 62% in the second quarter and 49% a year earlier, a figure that would have please investors, who have previously applauded the firm's ability to rapidly adapt to changing trends in the marketplace.

According to estimates, Facebook will control 20% of the global mobile internet ad industry by the end of 2014, with Google, Facebook’s biggest rival, losing ground against the social media network, with Google's market share set drop to 45%, having been 50% in 2012.

Facebook shares closed up 0.61% to $80.77 on Tuesday.