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David Javier E. David *Editor focused on markets and the economy January 27, 2021, 1:43 PM*4 min read Facebook (FB) reported fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday that were better than expected against a backdrop of mushrooming political and regulatory challenges -- but cited "significant uncertainty" as a problem for its massive ad revenue-generating machine. Here's a snapshot of key metrics expected versus the comparable year-ago quarter, according to a Bloomberg consensus forecast of Wall Street analysts: * Revenue: $28 billion vs $26.407 billion estimated; $21.082 billion in Q4 2019 * Earnings per share (Adjusted): $3.88 vs $3.54 expected; $2.56 in Q4 2019 * Ad Revenue: $27.19 billion vs. $26.07 billion expected; $20.74 billion in Q4 2019 * Daily Active Users (DAU): 1.84 billion vs 1.828 billion estimate; 1.66 billion in Q4 2019 * Monthly Active Users (MAU): 2.8 billion vs 2.762 billion; 2.50 billion in Q4 2019 With major technology companies in the hot seat as the Biden era begins, Facebook continued to build its user base, while reaping vast ad revenue as brands flock to Instagram, the photo-sharing site Facebook also owns. The company's board also authorized a Class A share buyback of up to $25 billion, underscoring how the company has persevered despite a turbulent year. However, the social network cited "significant uncertainty" stemming from the ongoing pandemic, and how that is likely to affect growth in the first quarter, even as the broad shift toward web-based commerce supports its business model. That comment helped knock over 4% from the stock in after-hours trading. On Tuesday, Facebook's stock fell in advance of its earnings, trading well below its 52-week high at $304 and in sympathy with a broad sell-off. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic keeping the world indoors, Facebook has reaped the benefits of surging users and revenue that's kept Wall Street bullish on the outlook for the social media company. "We believe these shifts provided a tailwind to our advertising business in the second half of 2020 given our strength in product verticals sold via online commerce and our lower exposure to service verticals like travel," the company said. Story continues "Looking forward, a moderation or reversal in one or both of these trends could serve as a headwind to our advertising revenue growth," it added, citing potentially negative growth trends that may be a drag on ad demand in the first half of 2021. Those troubles include Apple's (AAPL) upcoming shift to iOS 14, and the "evolving regulatory landscape" in both Europe and the U.S. "As a result, we expect year-over-year growth rates in total revenue to remain stable or modestly accelerate sequentially in the first and second quarters of 2021. In the second half of the year, we will lap periods of increasingly strong growth, which will significantly pressure year-over-year growth rates," Facebook said. Wall Street remains bullish Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies remotely via videoconference during a U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing on "Online Platforms and Market Power" in this screengrab made from video as the committee meets on Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S., July 29, 2020. U.S. House Judiciary Committee via REUTERSFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies remotely via videoconference during a U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing on "Online Platforms and Market Power" in this screengrab made from video as the committee meets on Capitol Hill, in Washington, U.S., July 29, 2020. U.S. House Judiciary Committee via REUTERS Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies remotely via videoconference during a U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing on "Online Platforms and Market Power" on July 29, 2020. U.S. House Judiciary Committee via REUTERS Analysts, however, still expect the platform to continue to outperform, given the deeply entrenched trends that have turned Facebook into one of the Internet's biggest draws for ad dollars. "We expect ad pricing to take an increased role in Facebook's revenue growth this year, particularly as the company had taken steps to ramp volume in tandem with engagement growth last year," analysts at Credit Suisse wrote last week. The bank rates Facebook's stock as an "Outperform" with a 12-month price target of $325. Consumers are increasingly using both the core app and Instagram as shopping hubs, Credit Suisse noted. That "brings Facebook closer to the bottom of the marketing funnel, which in turn increases the value of its ad inventory" -- and bolsters its attractiveness to paying advertisers, the bank added. Like other big technology companies, Facebook is still grappling with the fallout from imposing a ban on former President Donald Trump's social media account. Separately, the site's controversial political advertising and engagement policies have led critics to accuse Facebook of contributing to the heated partisan atmosphere. The political controversy is converging with regulatory troubles brewing around the country: In December, a group of 48 attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed two separate lawsuits accusing Facebook of violating antitrust law by snapping up smaller tech companies to quash competition. As part of its lawsuit, the FTC wants to break up Facebook's sprawling digital empire that includes Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. But that outcome is unlikely, according to UBS. "We believe because IG & WhatsApp were previously approved by the FTC and as the businesses are already well integrated... it would be unusual and difficult to force a sale/ unwind of these assets," UBS wrote in December. The bank rates Facebook's stock as a "Buy" with a 12-month price target of $330. "That said, we believe the FTC will more rigorously examine future acquisitions, including Giphy [ a deal announced in May of last year], raising the hurdle for future M&A (likely a large cap Internet theme)," UBS added. Javier David is an editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow Javier on Twitter: @TeflonGeek Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. TRENDING * 1. Apple Revenue Tops $100 Billion for First Time on iPhone Sales * 2. Facebook's Zuckerberg calls out Apple as 'one of its biggest competitors' * 3. 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Here's how to prepare yourself before it arrives. * [placeholde] Reuters GameStop rally quashes hedge funds, brings calls for scrutiny Shares of GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings more than doubled on Wednesday, forcing hedge funds to retreat with heavy losses and sparking calls for scrutiny of social media-driven stock market trading. Short-seller Citron, a target for some of the individual participants on Reddit's "WallStreetbets" thread who have helped drive gains for several niche stocks in the past week, said in a video post it had abandoned its bet on GameStop shares falling after the video game retailer's value soared almost tenfold in a fortnight. 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Get a system for NO COST at install & get paid up to $2,039 or more bonus after install. * MarketWatch It isn't just GameStop: Here are some of the other heavily shorted stocks shooting higher The dynamic that has seemingly contributed to a short squeeze in the stock of videogame retailer GameStop Corp. also appears to be affecting shares in a host of other heavily shorted companies. 1d ago * [placeholde] Investor's Business Daily Tesla Sees 2021 Delivery Growth Topping 50% As Q4 Earnings Miss Tesla missed Q4 earnings estimates late Wednesday, but sees 2021 delivery growth accelerating from 2020's pace. 1h ago * [placeholde] Yahoo Finance What is Wall Street Bets, the upstart Reddit group that is pummeling Wall Street? 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One of its most prominent members made some purchases in December that could benefit from the new Biden administration. What Happened: It was revealed over the weekend that Speaker of the House and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi purchased 25 call options of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA). The purchases could have been done by Pelosi or her husband Paul, who runs a venture capital firm. The options were bought at a stake price of $500 and expiration of March 18, 2022. Pelosi paid between $500,000 and $1,000,000 for the options, according to the disclosure. Pelosi also disclosed that she bought 20,000 shares of AllianceBernstein Holdings (NYSE: AB), 100 calls of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and 100 calls of Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS). Tesla shares have risen from $640.34 at the time the calls were purchased to over $890 today. The call options were valued at $1.12 million as of Monday. Related Link: How The 2020 Presidential Election Could Impact EV, Auto Stocks Why It's Important: The purchases by Pelosi are questionable as arguments could be made that the companies stand to benefit from new President Joe Biden's agenda. Biden's push for electric vehicles, which could include lifting the cap on sales, would give buyers tax credits again and is advantageous for Tesla. The president has also suggested a possible cash-for-clunkers program that could incentivize customers for trading in used vehicles towards the purchase of an electric vehicle. Pelosi could now have a conflict as she works to pass clean energy initiatives from which her family could profit. Former U.S. Senator David Perdue, a Republican, was criticized for making numerous stock trades during his six years in Congress. Perdue was the most prominent stock trader from Congress, making 2,596 trades during his time served. Some of Perdue's transactions came while he was a member of several sub-committees. The Justice Department investigated Perdue and found no wrongdoing. What's Next: It's legal for members of Congress and their spouses to own stocks. The transactions have to be disclosed per the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act that was passed in 2012. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon is one member of Congress who has co-sponsored legislation to ban the adding of individual stocks by members of Congress. Both Merkley and Pelosi are Democrats. Pelosi's transactions could push for more regulations concerning stock purchases by members of Congress. (Photo: Official U.S. Embassy photograph by Archibald Sackey and Courage Ahiati.) See more from BenzingaClick here for options trades from BenzingaCharging Infrastructure SPAC Plays: Is EVGo The Best Of The Bunch?Barstool Fund Nears M For Small Businesses And Is About To Get A Huge Boost From Michigan(c) 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. 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With stock after stock, legions of day traders have identified companies with high levels of short interest and piled in. In the case of GameStop, the soaring price has forced many short sellers to give up their positions.American rose 6.6% to $16.56 at the close in New York, the most since Dec. 3, after paring gains from an intraday surge of as much as 15%. Other companies on a Standard & Poor's index of big U.S. airlines fell.The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier declined to comment.The gain isn't "justified by anything fundamental," Darryl Genovesi, an analyst at Vertical Research Partners, said in an email. He expressed the same view about the stock surge during the session of another company he covers, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.Short-Squeeze RiskShort interest as a percentage of American's free float is about 29%, according to data from S3 Partners. No other major U.S. airline has short interest of more than 5%.American is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. Like its rivals, the airline has been contending with the unprecedented collapse of air travel because of the coronavirus pandemic.Following American's advance, CFRA Research changed its recommendation on the shares to hold from strong sell and lifted its price target to $19 from $8."We think the stock is a high risk for one of the recent retail-investor-driven short squeezes we've seen play out," CFRA analyst Colin Scarola wrote in a client note.The firm also elevated Spirit Airlines Inc. from sell to hold for the same reason. Short interest is about 16% of Spirit's free float, according to Vertical Research.(Updates from 8th paragraph with CFRA comments on American, Spirit.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.(c)2021 Bloomberg L.P. 2h ago * Barrons.com Another GameStop? Here Are the Next 10 Most Shorted Small-Caps. Highly shorted stocks are being targeted by some investors trying to force people who have bet the prices will fall into covering. Watch Dillard's and AMC Entertainment. 20h ago * [placeholde] TechCrunch How trading apps are responding to the GameStop fustercluck The furor surrounding GameStop and its stock price has consumed social media, business television, and the hopes and dreams of many retail investors. After noting reports that some traditional brokers were limiting access to GameStop and other so-called meme stocks, TechCrunch was curious what the newer, app-based investing services were doing for their own users. 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Big Short investor Michael Burry issued a warning. 6h ago * [placeholde] Yahoo Finance 'Fighting 100 mini Mike Tysons': The powerful influence of Reddit trade Reddit and its r/wallstreetbets forum have become powerful, unpredictable forces in the market, sending certain stocks unexpectedly to the moon. 9h ago * [placeholde] Reuters Apple sees revenue growth accelerating after setting record for iPhone sales, China strength Apple Inc on Wednesday reported holiday quarter sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations, as new 5G iPhones helped push handset revenue to a new record and sparked a 57% rise in China sales. Apple shipped its iPhone 12 lineup several weeks later than usual, but an expanded number of models and new look appear to have tapped into pent up demand for upgrades, especially in China. Apple's revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 26 rose 21% to $111.44 billion. 2h ago More Stories __ __ __