Facebook beats profit estimates, sets aside $3 billion for privacy penalty

Facebook Inc on Wednesday blew past Wall Street profit estimates in the first quarter and set aside $3 billion to cover a settlement with U.S. regulators, calming investors who had worried about the outcome of a months-long federal probe.

Shares of the world’s biggest online social network jumped more than 10 percent to $200.50 in after-hours trade. They have now regained much of the ground lost last year amid slowing growth and costs associated with the company’s privacy scandals.

The settlement accrual, which Facebook set at $3 billion but said could rise as high as $5 billion, cut the company’s net income in the first quarter to $2.43 billion, or 85 cents per share.