Daily Tech Snippet: Thursday, May 4

• Facebook shares dip from high as investors fret over costs, future profit: Facebook Inc reported surging quarterly profit and revenue on Wednesday, helped by its fast-growing mobile ad business, but its shares dipped from a record high in after-hours trading as investors showed some nervousness about future earnings. The world's biggest online social network, which is nearing the five-year anniversary of its initial public offering, is searching for new types of advertising features to supplement its main revenue streams that it expects to cool off this year. Facebook's shares fell 2.4 percent in after-hours trading to $148.12. They had closed at an all-time high of $153.60 on Tuesday.Facebook said quarterly profit in the first three months of 2017 rose 76.6 percent year-over year to $3.06 billion and total revenue went up 49 percent to $8.03 billion.That would give Facebook a 22.6 percent share of the worldwide mobile ad market, with archrival Google of Alphabet Inc projected to be the leader with a 35.1 percent share, according to eMarketer.

• Tesla’s Q1 revenue more than doubles year-over-year as Model 3 plan remains on track: Tesla reported a loss of $1.33 per share on revenue of $2.7 billion, while Wall Street expected a loss of 83 cents per share on $2.61 billion in revenue. While it was a wider-than-expected loss, it looks like a pretty ho-hum result for the company as all eyes look toward the later part of the year when the Model 3 production is in full swing — and whether Tesla will be able to get enough cars rolling out. In April, Tesla’s continued rising stock price valued the company more than Ford. That came on the heels of the company saying its vehicle production and deliveries rose in the first quarter at a rate faster than what Wall Street expected. Shares of Tesla were largely unchanged today, with the company worth more than $50 billion (still well above Ford).

• Fitbit Beats Low Expectations on Stronger-Than-Expected Demand: Fitbit gave investors some much-needed good news, reporting revenue that beat projections and suggesting it’s finally making progress in its transformation from a maker of step-counting gadgets to essential health-monitoring tools. The hardware maker’s profitability has sagged while it confronts a maturing market and falling sales. Fitbit shares have lost more than half of their value over the past year, as investors lost patience that upcoming products would resuscitate demand. The company reported earnings that came in well-below analyst expectations the past two quarters and cut staff earlier this year to reduce operating costs. Sales fell 41 percent to $298.9 million in the quarter ended March 31, Fitbit said Wednesday in a statement. Analysts on average estimated $279.4 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company said it lost 15 cents a share, excluding some costs, compared with analysts’ projection of a loss of 18 cents a share. Fitbit’s share gained 9.3 percent in extended trading at 4:28 p.m. in New York after closing at $5.68.

• Square Thrives as Payments Platform Woos Bigger Merchants: Square Inc. is on a roll, proving that it’s not just a niche payments player but an all-inclusive business management platform for small companies. Run by Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey, Square has come a long way from its early days as a credit card reader in food trucks. It’s been expanding geographically and in terms of the services it offers merchants, winning bigger clients as a result and boosting sales. Revenue in the first quarter shot past forecasts from the company and analysts, rising 39 percent as businesses sign on for payments processing, loans and software to help manage inventory. Square also raised its sales and profit forecast for the year. Not long ago investors had begun to question Square’s prospects and growth in the face of rising competition from PayPal Holdings Inc. and Apple Pay. But the San Francisco-based company has plowed ahead, marking its biggest international push by launching services in the U.K. in March, and signing partnerships and acquisitions in the food-delivery business, a strategy it hopes helps attract more restaurants. Earlier this year, Square introduced a set of business tools aimed specifically at retailers, which accounted for 20 percent of all payments volume it processed last year. The efforts haven’t gone unnoticed, as investors pushed the stock to a record $18.81 on Tuesday. Square gained 5.4 percent at 5:28 p.m. in extended trading in New York Wednesday.