Facebook surges on user growth in pandemic, sees murky outlok

Facebook on Wednesday reported a sharp jump in usage as the global pandemic in a quarterly update that sparked a rally in shares of the social network despite its warning of turbulence in the coming months.

Shares climbed some 10 percent after Facebook reported a profit of $4.9 billion on revenue that grew 17 percent to $17.4 billion during the first three months of this year.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg vowed to keep pouring money into social networking “needs” revealed by the crisis despite uncertainty about the impact of the health emergency on the economy and its business.