Facebook earnings Q2 2018

Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer and founder of Facebook 

Facebook missed projections on revenue and global daily active users this quarter after struggling with data leaks and fake news scandals.

The company reported its second-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday:

• Earnings per share: $1.74 vs. $1.72 per a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate
• Revenue: $13.23 billion vs. $13.36 billion per a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate
• Global daily active users (DAUs): 1.47 billion vs. 1.49 billion, according to a StreetAccount and FactSet estimate

Of particular interest this quarter are Facebook’sdaily active user (DAUs) rates, especially those in North America and Europe. This quarter marks the majority of time since the Cambridge Analytica data leaks were revealed, when it reported the data analytics firm had used improperly obtained Facebook user data to target political advertising. Since then, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has testified in front ofU.S. Congress and before the EU about his company’s ability to protect user data. (The first quarter report only included the first two weeks since Cambridge Analytica scandal.)

Facebook has also implemented many changes to better inform users about advertising, including creating political ad regulations and databases and more ways to see what ads Pages are running. It is also reducing the frequency of misinformation posts, and taking down content meant to incite violence.

The period also encompasses enactment of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, a set of regulations giving users more control over their online data.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.