Bottom In? Meta Platforms Surges After Earnings
Shane Neagle | Feb 03, 2023 07:31
Shares of Facebook owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) are up sharply higher on Thursday after the social media giant reported better-than-expected Q4 revenue and announced a $40 billion share repurchase program.
For its fourth quarter, the company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76, down 52% from the year-ago period. Revenue came in at $32.17 billion in the three-month period that ended Dec. 31, down 4% year-over-year, but above the consensus estimates of $31.53 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Better-Than-Feared Report, Fundamentals Improving/h2
The report marks the third consecutive quarter of declining sales for Meta, while its costs and expenses jumped 22% from the year-ago period to $25.8 billion. The social media business also reported 2 billion Daily Active Users (DAUs) in the quarter, just above the analysts’ expectations of 1.99 billion. The number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs) stood at 2.96 billion in the period, slightly short of the estimated 2.98 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Meta’s Average Revenue per User (ARPU) was reported at $10.86, topping the expected $10.63 per share. The tech giant reported restructuring expenses for its Family of Apps and Reality Labs businesses of $3.76 billion and $440 million, respectively.
Looking ahead, the company expects revenue in Q1 2023 in the range of $26 billion to $28.5 billion, compared to analysts’ estimates of $27.1 billion and Q1 2021 sales of $27.9 billion. If the company’s revenue reaches the higher end of its forecast range, it would mark the end of its year-over-year streak of declines.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement:
“Our community continues to grow and I’m pleased with the strong engagement across our apps. Our management theme for 2023 is the ‘Year of Efficiency’ and we’re focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization.”
The company said its workforce grew by 20% year-over-year to 86,482 as of Dec. 31, 2022. However, more than 11,000 of these employees are set to be laid off as announced by Meta last November.
Meta also approved a $40 billion stock buyback program on Wednesday, after purchasing $27.9 billion worth of its shares in 2022. The use of a Five Minute Finance , for weekly analysis of the biggest trends in finance and technology.
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