Facebook profit surges 76.6 pct as ad sales jump

Mobile ad revenue accounted for 85 percent of the company's total advertising revenue of $7.86 billion in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with 82 percent a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected total ad revenue of $7.68 billion, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

The social media giant is expected to generate $31.94 billion in mobile ad revenue globally in 2017, a 42.1 percent jump from a year earlier, according to research firm eMarketer.

Net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $3.06 billion, or $1.04 per share, from $1.73 billion, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total revenue rose to $8.03 billion from $5.38 billion.

Facebook is the last of the top five U.S. tech companies to report quarterly earnings.