Column: 7 things that will affect Facebook’s earnings next year

When Facebook released its latest quarterly earnings report on Oct. 30, investors were instantly bummed out. Then they were euphoric, and then they were all over the place, until finally they were, overall, pretty pleased. The stock hit $50.57, up .73%, in trading Thursday.

There’s plenty in the numbers to be pleased about: Profit for the quarter doubled compared to the same period last year, to $621 million. Revenue was up 60%, to a bit over $2 billion, beating analysts’ expectations.

The devil was in the details, which were too complicated for instant reactions.

Here’s a look at seven things that will affect Facebook’s future earnings, for better or worse. They were gleaned from company executives’ comments following the earnings report, and from other sources.

Some point to real strategies for the months ahead. And some hint at bigger issues that are, frankly, out of Facebook’s control.