Meta Platform’s revenue fell 4% to $32 billion last quarter, as the company continued to struggle with a slowdown in its advertising business. The drop, however, was at the lower end of the company’s forecast of a decline between 3.4% and 11%.
The company’s stock climbed after the announcement, buoyed by the news of a $40 billion stock buyback.
Reality Labs, the department behind Meta’s push to develop metaverse technology, reported losses of $4.2 billion—up from $3.3 billion the prior year. Meta’s profit fell 55% to $4.65 billion.
Meta reported that daily active people across Meta’s family of apps rose 5% compared to the prior year quarter, to an average of 2.96 billion. The company’s headcount was up 20% to 86,482 people, though the company noted that the figure included most of the 11,000 employees who were laid off, signaling the number will be lower next quarter.
Meta is anticipating first quarter revenue will remain roughly flat 2023, with the company’s chief financial officer projecting revenue of between $26 billion and $28.5 billion, compared to $27.9 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
Meta shares are popping in premarket trading this morning — up nearly 20 percent at 7 a.m. Eastern — after the social networking giant reported revenues above analysts’ expectations and detailed a $40 billion stock buyback plan.
Comments by Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s C.E.O., about 2023 being the “year of efficiency” also appear to be reassuring investors that Big Tech companies, which have announced a string of layoffs recently, are serious about rethinking their spending priorities in an uncertain economy.
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