Meta posts sharp profit, revenue increase in Q4 thanks to cost cuts and advertising rebound

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Meta Platforms Inc_ tripled its profit and posted sharply higher revenue in the final quarter of 2023, boosted by a rebound in digital advertising as well cost cutting and layoffs in what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the “year of efficiency.”

Earns Meta

Meta Platforms Inc. tripled its profit and posted sharply higher revenue in the final quarter of 2023, boosted by a rebound in digital advertising as well cost cutting and layoffs in what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the “year of efficiency.”

"The company can talk all it wants to about AI and the metaverse, but it’s still a social media company that gets nearly all its revenue from advertising, and advertisers still clearly love Meta,” said longtime tech analyst Debra Aho Williamson.

The Menlo Park, California-based company said Thursday that it earned $14 billion, or $5.33 per share, in the October-December period. That's up from $4.65 billion, or $1.76 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue grew 25% to $40.11 billion from $32.17 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $4.82 per share on revenue $39.1 billion, according to FactSet Research.

“This was a pivotal year for our company. We increased our operating discipline, delivered strong execution across our product priorities, and improved advertising performance for the businesses who rely on our services,” Meta said in a statement.

Meta also grew the user base on its apps, with monthly active users on its family of apps — Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp — reaching 3.98 billion as of the end of the year, up 6% from 2022.

Facebook had 3.07 billion monthly active users as of Dec. 31, an increase of 3% year-over year. The company does not break out the user base of its other platforms.

The blowout results come a day after Zuckerberg testified before the Senate along with other social media CEOs about the dangers their platforms pose to children.

For the current quarter, Meta is forecasting revenue of of $34.5 billion to $37 billion, above Wall Street's expectations. Analysts are projecting revenue of $33.9 billion for the first quarter.

The company said it had 67,317 employees as of December 31, 2023, a decrease of 22% year-over-year after it laid off thousands to cut expenses.

Meta also initiated a quarterly dividend to its shareholders. It said it will pay 50 cents per share on March 26 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 22. It said it plans to pay a quarterly dividend going forward.

Meta's shares jumped $45.37, or 11.5%, to $440.15 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed at $394.78, up 1.2%.

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Originally published by Associated Press Valuethemarkets.com, Digitonic Ltd (and our owners, directors, officers, managers, employees, affiliates, agents and assigns) are not responsible for the content or accuracy of this article. The information included in this article is based solely on information provided by the company or companies mentioned above.

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