After initial public offer, Facebook faces another test

On Thursday, Facebook will report its first earnings as a public company. Facebook shares have traded from $25.52 to $45 since its initial public offer. It has not risen above $38 since its first trading day.

On average, analysts are expecting Facebook to post earnings of 12 cents per share on revenue of $1.16 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. In all of 2011, it had net income of $1 billion and revenue of $3.71 billion, according to regulatory filings.

Facebook's earnings report comes a day after Zynga Inc, which contributed to 12 per cent of Facebook's revenue last year, reported disappointing earnings.

Facebook's initial public offer went public on May 18, a Friday that capped a disappointing week for the U.S. stock market.

Besides revenue growth, what Facebook says about user numbers will be important.