Meta (META) reported its fourth-quarter 2022 earnings today after the bell, as Facebook parent beat key revenue expectations amid a tough ad market.
Here’s what the key numbers looked like, compared to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Fourth Quarter Income: $32.17 billion actual vs. $31.65 billion expected
Advertising revenue – $31.25 billion actual versus $30.86 billion expected
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) – $1.76 actual versus $2.26 expected
Facebook Daily Active Users (DAU) – 2 billion real versus 1.98 billion expected
Application Family Daily Active Users (DAU) – 2.96 billion real versus 2.92 billion expected
Reality Labs operating loss: -$4.28 billion actual versus -$3.99 billion expected
Shares of the company were up about 14% in after-hours trading.
These numbers cap what has been an exceptionally difficult year for Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp. In 2022, the company’s shares fell roughly 63% as the social media giant battled growing competition from TikTok, high inflation, and a muted digital advertising market.
Rival Snap (SNAP) reported earnings yesterday, barely meeting Wall Street expectations for revenue and DAU and hinted at a likely revenue decline in the first quarter of 2023. Snap’s shares plunged about 13% after the report.
Meta has many moving parts
In today’s earnings release, Meta notably announced a $40 billion share buyback. It’s a strong move, given that the company laid off 11,000 workers in November, and more jobs are reportedly on the table even now. Additionally, the company’s C-suite has undergone a substantial reorganization over the past year, with COO Sheryl Sandberg officially leaving the company in September.
It’s been a solid day for Meta, which reportedly won its case against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) this morning, getting the green light to buy virtual reality developer Within, which makes the fitness app Supernatural. The FTC has the option to appeal and, going forward, will likely continue to look at future Meta deals under President Lina Khan.
allie garfinkle is a senior technology reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @agarfinks and in LinkedIn.
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