Facebook, Google's huge profits buoy Wall St, bring backlash in Washington

Washington

HOURS after Facebook appeared before a Senate panel on Wednesday to account for the company's role in the spread of Russian misinformation on its platform, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg got on a conference call with investors to celebrate a milestone: for the first time in its history, Facebook had earned more than US$10 billion in quarterly revenue.

Mr Zuckerberg followed up with still more staggering numbers: his company had made US$4.7 billion in profit from July to September, a 79 per cent increase over the same period last year. And the company now boasts nearly 2.1 billion monthly users.

Facebook isn't the only tech company reporting big successes to Wall Street these days. Alphabet, Google's parent company, recently reported revenues of US$28 billion between July and September - a 24 per cent jump compared to the same period last year. Amazon, while it has not prioritised profits, reported a stunning 34 per cent jump in sales compared to last year, at roughly US$44 billion. (Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos also owns The Washington Post.) And Twitter…