Shares of Meta Platforms (META) are up 8% after the parent company of Facebook and Instagram reported second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts across the board.
Fueled by a rebound in digital advertising on its social media platforms, Meta reported earnings of $2.98 U.S. a share versus $2.91 U.S. that had been expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv data.
Revenue in the quarter amounted to $32 billion U.S. compared to consensus estimates of $31.12 billion U.S.
Other key numbers reported by Meta include:
• Daily Active Users (DAUs): 2.06 billion versus 2.04 billion expected.
• Monthly Active Users (MAUs): 3.03 billion compared to 3 billion expected.
• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU): $10.63 U.S. versus $10.22 U.S. expected.
Revenue in Q2 increased 11% from a year earlier, the first time the company has reported double-digit growth in that area since the end of 2021.
Looking ahead, Meta Platforms forecast third-quarter revenue of $32 billion U.S. to $34.5 billion U.S., suggesting growth of at least 15% from a year earlier. Analysts had been forecasting Q3 revenue of $31.3 billion U.S.
Meta said its total expenses in Q2 were $22.61 billion U.S., an increase of 10% from the same period in 2022.
The company has been striving to become more efficient, instituting a cost-savings plan that resulted in 21,000 job cuts earlier this year.
The company is now forecasting capital expenditures for all this year of $27 billion U.S. to $30 billion U.S., down from a previous estimate of $30 billion U.S. to $33 billion U.S.
Expenses in 2024 are expected to grow due to investments in data centers and artificial intelligence, the company said.
The Reality Labs unit, which is developing applications for the metaverse that include virtual reality headsets, posted a quarterly loss of $3.7 billion U.S.
Prior to the latest jump, Meta’s stock had risen 140% this year to $298.57 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
