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Meta shares soared more than 10 percent after the company tripled its profit and posted sharply higher revenue in the final quarter of 2023.
The California-based tech giant announced it earned $14 billion, or $5.33 per share, from October to December last year – up from $4.65 billion, or $1.76 per share, a year prior.
Revenue, meanwhile, jumped 25 percent in the quarter to $40.11 billion. This was up from $32.2 billion a year earlier – the fastest growth for any period since mid-2021.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement: ‘We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow. We’ve made a lot of progress on our vision for advancing AI and the metaverse.’
The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, also announced its first ever quarterly dividend of 50 cents a share and an additional $50 billion in share buybacks.
Meta shares soared more than 10 percent after the company tripled its profit and posted sharply higher revenue in the final quarter of 2023 (Pictured: CE0 Mark Zuckerberg)
Buybacks and dividends help boost stock prices by rewarding investors with cash simply for holding stock in the company. Meta’s cash dividend of 50 cents a share will be paid out on March 26.
It appears that the company’s ‘year of efficiency’, as Zuckerberg dubbed 2023, has paid off.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $4.82 per share on revenue $39.1 billion, according to FactSet Research.
Meta’s blowout results come amid reports from other tech rivals, including Amazon and Apple.
The news comes a day after Zuckerberg apologized to families who said their children had been harmed by social media during a hearing in the US Senate.
He appeared alongside TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, Discord boss Jason Citron, X chief Linda Yaccarino and Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel.
All were grilled by Republicans about how they protect teenagers and children on their respective apps.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to come.
