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Facebook stock (ticker: FB) was up about 8% in after-hours trading after the social networking giant reported earnings for its fiscal first quarter, despite its disclosure of a $3 billion charge related to legal expenses.

The back story. What data and security controversies? They may dog Facebook in the news and on Capitol Hill, but investors barely seem to care. Facebook shares have soared 39% in 2019.

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“We like that Facebook is once again leaning heavily into product [and] more actively pursuing revenue diversification,” JPMorgan Chase analyst Doug Anmuth said in a note to investors Sunday, referring to Facebook’s plan to roll out a private-messaging platform. He forecast $15 billion in revenue for the quarter.

What’s new. Facebook on Wednesday reported earnings of 85 cents a share, including a one-time charge of $3 billion for legal expenses because of a continuing Federal Trade Commission inquiry that is expected to lead to a multibillion-dollar fine.

But excluding the charge, earnings were $1.89 a share, beating Wall Street’s forecast for $1.61. Revenue, which jumped 8% year-over-year to $15.08 billion, also topped expectations for $14.97 billion.

The company said it had 2.38 billion monthly active users in the quarter, edging Wall Street estimates of 2.375 billion.

“We are focused on building out our privacy-focused vision for the future of social networking, and working collaboratively to address important issues around the internet,” Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement announcing the results.

Looking ahead. During a conference call with analysts Wednesday, Zuckerberg said Facebook will spend the next few years building out services for the privacy-focused platform, which he likened to a “digital living room.” He said more details will emerge during Facebook’s developer conference in San Jose, Calif., next week.

Investors remain bullish on Facebook as it spends more than $3.7 billion this year to fortify security across its vast properties. The stock has proven to be resilient because it continues to grow at a healthy clip, leading to billions of dollars in advertising revenue.

When asked about Facebook’s future monetization plans beyond advertising, which accounts for nearly all of the company’s sales, Zuckerberg said e-commerce will increasingly grow as its products evolve for businesses. However, he didn’t offer a timetable.

Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak believes ad sales will only grow bigger with Instagram’s promise as an e-commerce tool. In raising his price target on Facebook shares to $195 from $190 on April 9, Nowak estimates Instagram could add $4 billion in incremental sales by 2021 as advertisers and companies connect purchases to their digital apps.

“We believe investors will continue to gain comfort with the incremental financial risk created by content and privacy concerns while at the same time usage trends have remained solid,” Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris said in a note this month. He maintains a Buy rating and price target of $200.

Facebook shares closed Wednesday at $182.63, down 0.6%.

Write to Jon Swartz at jonathan.swartz@dowjones.com