Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META) provided the tonic investors needed with its fourth-quarter results by vowing to make 2023 a “year of efficiency” for the beleaguered social media giant. Meta stock soared as the company tried to make good by announcing $40 billion in new share repurchases, on top of recent job reductions.
“Our management theme for 2023 is the ‘Year of Efficiency’ and we’re focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization,” Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a written statement with the earnings release.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.76 a share on revenue of $32.16 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $31.55 billion, according to FactSet. An earnings comparison with analyst estimates was not available due to restructuring charges reported by the company
But Meta provided a revenue outlook that outpaced estimates. For its first quarter, the company expects revenue in the range of $26 billion to $28.5 billion. The midpoint of $27.25 billion is above estimates for $27.1 billion.
Meta stock soared 18.6% to 181.54 in morning action on the stock market today.
Difficult Year For Meta
The earnings report comes after a highly difficult year for Meta, which announced plans in November to cut 11,000 jobs. The job cuts involve 13% of Meta’s workforce. Further, Meta’s $40 billion increase in share buybacks comes on top of nearly $28 billion in repurchases made during 2022.
Additionally, Meta says it reached a milestone.
“Our community continues to grow and I’m pleased with the strong engagement across our apps. Facebook just reached the milestone of 2 billion daily actives,” Zuckerberg said in the written statement. Analysts were expecting 1.99 billion.
