Facebook results set for review after hours

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) � Facebook Inc.�s stock went on a wild ride late Wednesday, seeing sharp losses and slight gains following better-than-expected quarterly results from the social-networking company.

Shares of Facebook FB tumbled by as much as 10% after the release of the company�s fourth-quarter results. They managed to erase the losses to notch modest advances, only to return to the red where they traded down 4.1% at $29.96.

Some investors apparently had anticipated a �blowout� quarterly report, one analyst said. See: Facebook�s results beat Street, but shares slip.

Investors had been drawn in ahead of the results, leaving the shares with a year-to-date gain of 17.4% and an advance of 35% since Facebook�s last financial report was released in October.

Click to Play Facebook earnings top estimates

Stocks pull back after the Federal Reserve kept its bond-buying program steady, but offered a mixed review of the economy. Meanwhile, Facebook reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat forecasts. (Photo: Getty Images)

Late Wednesday, Facebook said adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter were 17 cents a share, better than the 15 cents a share expected among analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue rose to $1.59 billion from $1.13 billion a year ago, higher than the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion for the most recent period.

The results pointed to traction in the company�s mobile-advertising business. See MarketWatch�s live coverage of Facebook�s earnings.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm Inc. QCOM �shares stayed higher in late trading, up by 6.3% at $67.56 after the company�s quarterly forecast came in above expectations. The wireless chip maker expects fiscal second-quarter revenue of $5.8 billion to $6.3 billion and earnings of $1.10 to $1.18 a share. Analysts had pegged earnings at $1.10 a share on revenue of $5.9 billion.

Sales at Qualcomm during the fiscal first quarter rose 29% to $6.02 billion. Net earnings jumped 32% to $2.2 billion and earnings were $1.26 per share. Wall Street anticipated earnings of $1.13 a share on revenue of $5.9 billion.

Shares of JDS Uniphase Corp. JDSU �gained 14% to $14.17 after the maker of broadband products swung to a fiscal second-quarter profit of $4.1 million, or 2 cents a share. Adjusted earnings of 18 cents a share were above the 14 cents a share expected by Wall Street analysts. See: JDSU swings to profit on communications revenue.

Better-than-expected results at Align Technology Inc. ALGN �helped shares of the Invisalign braces maker rise 10% to $32.25. Read more about Align Tech's quarterly report.

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Ahead of late trading, U.S. stocks backed away from five-year highs after the Federal Reserve said U.S. �economic activity had paused in recent months� and maintained its monetary policy. Read about Wednesday's action in U.S. stocks.

The S&P 500 Index SPX fell 0.4% at 1,501.96 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA lost 44 points at 13,910.42. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP shed 0.4% at 3,142.31.