Shares of Meta Platforms (META) are up 11% after the parent company of Facebook reported higher first-quarter sales and lifted its forward guidance.
Meta reported Q1 earnings per share of $2.20 U.S. versus $2.03 U.S. that was expected on Wall Street, according to Refinitiv data.
Revenue in Q1 amounted to $28.65 billion U.S. compared to $27.65 billion U.S. that had been forecast by analysts.
Daily Active Users (DAUs) across Meta’s various social media platforms, which also include Instagram and WhatsApp, totaled 2.04 billion versus 2.01 billion that had been expected.
Average Revenue per User (ARPU) came in at $9.62 U.S. compared to $9.30 U.S. that was forecast among analysts who follow the company.
Looking forward, Meta Platforms said that in the current second quarter it expects revenue of between $29.5 billion U.S. and $32 billion U.S., while analysts had penciled in sales of $29.5 billion U.S. for Q2.
Meta’s Reality Labs unit, which is developing virtual reality technologies, brought in $339 million U.S. in sales but posted an operating loss of $3.99 billion U.S during the first quarter.
Earlier this year, Meta Platforms chief executive Mark Zuckerberg called 2023 the company’s “year of efficiency.” Shortly afterwards, the company cut some 21,000 staff and announced a reorganization.
Meta’s stock had risen 68% this year to $209.40 U.S. a share before this latest leg higher.
Tech Insider
