Meta exceeds expectations | IEX.nl

(ABM FN-Dow Jones) Meta Platforms more than doubled its net profit last quarter on a 27 percent increase in turnover. This emerged from the results of Facebook’s parent company after trading hours on Wednesday.

The American social media company performed better than expected, while revenue expectations for the current quarter disappointed.

“It’s been a good start to the year,” said CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg. “The new version of Meta AI with Llama 3 is another step in building the world’s leading AI system. We see healthy growth in our apps and we continue to make steady progress building the metaverse,” added he admits.

Meta posted a 117 percent higher net profit of $12.4 billion, or $4.71 per share, in the first three months of 2024, compared to net profit of $5.7 billion, or $2.20 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 27 percent from $28.6 billion in the first quarter of 2023 to $36.5 billion last quarter.

Analysts consulted in advance by FactSet Research expected earnings per share of $4.32 on revenue of $36.14 billion.

In March 2024, an average of 3.24 billion people interacted with Meta sites every day, a year-over-year increase of 7 percent.

Ad impressions increased 20 percent year-over-year, while the average price per ad increased 6 percent year-over-year.

Outlook

The group is targeting second-quarter revenue of $36.5 billion to $39.0 billion, or $37.75 billion at the midpoint of its range. Analysts expected $38.25 billion.

The group expects to spend 96 to 99 billion throughout 2024. Previously, expenditure was estimated at $94 to $99 billion.

Investment expenditure is estimated at $35 to $40 billion by 2024. Previously, these expenses were estimated at $30 to $37 billion.

Meta shares traded 12.0 percent lower in after-hours electronic trading on Wednesday.

Source: ABM Financial News