Meta Stock – Meta, the parent company of Facebook, experienced a remarkable 14% surge in its stock value during extended trading, fueled by a stellar fourth-quarter earnings report. The tech giant exceeded expectations across key financial metrics and announced its inaugural dividend payment.
Meta Stock: Here are the noteworthy figures from Meta’s Q4 report:
- Earnings per Share: $5.33, surpassing the expected $4.96 by LSEG
- Revenue: $40.1 billion, beating the anticipated $39.18 billion by LSEG
- Daily Active Users (DAUs): 2.11 billion, exceeding the expected 2.08 billion
- Monthly Active Users (MAUs): 3.07 billion, surpassing the estimated 3.06 billion
- Average Revenue per User (ARPU): $13.12, beating the expected $12.81
Meta Stock, The company witnessed a 25% revenue surge from $32.2 billion in the previous year, marking the fastest growth rate since mid-2021. Operating expenses decreased by 8% year-over-year to $23.73 billion, resulting in an impressive operating margin of 41%. Net income tripled to $14 billion, or $5.33 per share, from $4.65 billion, or $1.76 per share, in the same period last year.
In a strategic move, Meta declared its first-ever dividend of 50 cents per share, scheduled for payment on March 26. This announcement came on the heels of the company’s cash and equivalents swelling from $40.7 billion to $65.4 billion by the end of 2023. Additionally, Meta unveiled a $50 billion share buyback initiative.
The after-hours market rally continues the momentum from 2023 when Meta’s stock nearly tripled. The company’s market capitalization has now reached almost $1.2 trillion based on its late-trading price.
Meta’s Reality Labs unit surpassed $1 billion in sales for the quarter, but the virtual reality segment reported losses of $4.65 billion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed satisfaction with the company’s progress, particularly in advancing AI and the metaverse.
Looking ahead, Meta expects Q1 sales in the range of $34.5 billion to $37 billion, surpassing analyst predictions of $33.8 billion. Projected expenses for 2024 are in the range of $94 billion to $99 billion.
Despite a 22% year-over-year decrease in headcount to 67,317, Meta’s finance chief, Susan Li, highlighted revenue growth driven by sectors such as e-commerce, entertainment, and gaming.
Chinese retailers played a significant role in Meta’s financial recovery, contributing 10% of sales for the year and accounting for 5 percentage points of growth. Zuckerberg credited advancements in artificial intelligence for Meta’s robust ad business, outpacing Google’s growth rate.
Addressing recent challenges, including tough questioning from lawmakers, Zuckerberg emphasized continued investments in AI and computing infrastructure. However, he indicated that hiring plans would be “relatively minimal” to maintain a lean operational structure.
