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Facebook Mixed on Q3, Swings to Positive; Plus AMGN, MGM

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Facebook outperformed on its headline earnings number for Q3, beating by 30 cents from the Zacks consensus to $1.76 per share, and above the $1.59 in the year-ago quarter. However, revenues missed expectations of $13.81 billion, posting $13.73 billion, but are still up roughly 30% year over year. Shares were immediately trading down on the news, initially by 5% but have now swung to the positive in late trading.

Both Monthly Active Users (MAU) and Daily Active Users (DAU) were down slightly from estimates for the quarter, to 2.27 billion (+10%) and 1.49 billion (+9%) respectively. These figures represent slightly slowing user growth from the +11% growth we saw in both MAU and DAU in Q2. All in all, 2.6 billion users engage in one of Facebook's family of platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp.

Costs rose 53% for Facebook year over year as headcount grew 45% -- both reflecting a concerted effort for Facebook to address security and account fraud issues. Eyes and ears will be on the upcoming conference call, where a quarter ago the company guided toward revenue deceleration for the first time in the company's publicly traded history. This sent the shares plummeting from all-time highs over the summer, and the stock has yet to recover.

Biopharma giant and Zacks Rank #2 (Buy)-rated Amgen (AMGN - Free Report) outperformed estimates on both top and bottom lines this afternoon, with $3.69 per share and $5.9 billion easily beating the $3.42 per share and $5.86 billion. The company also raised revenue guidance to a range of $23.2-23.5 billion (Zacks consensus had been $23.26 billion) and earnings forecasts of $14-14.25 per share (Zacks consensus $14.02). Shares are trading marginally higher in the after market. For more on AMGN earnings, click here.

MGM Resorts International (MGM - Free Report) also posted higher-than-expected numbers for both earnings and sales after today's closing bell, with 24 cents per share well ahead of the 18 cents analysts had been expecting. Revenues of $3.03 billion outpaced the $2.91 billion consensus estimate. Although gaming and non-gaming revenues in the U.S. were lower than expected on additional investments, its China business rose 37% year over year following its Kotai casino opening earlier this year. The company CEO does not offer specific guidance, but does expect 1-2% growth in its Las Vegas business and a new licensing deal in Japan.

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Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

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