Meta Platforms (META) reported a 23% increase in its third-quarter revenue as the market for online advertising rebounds following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenue in Q3 grew at the fastest rate in two years. Other highlights from the company’s earnings include:
Earnings per share (EPS) of $4.39 U.S. versus $3.63 U.S. that was expected on Wall Street, according to data from LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
Revenue in the July through September period came in at $34.15 billion U.S. compared to $33.56 billion U.S. that had been forecast by analysts.
Daily active users (DAUs) at Meta totaled 2.09 billion in Q3 versus 2.07 billion that was anticipated.
Monthly active users (MAUs) for the company came in at 3.05 billion, which matched expectations.
Average revenue per user (ARPU) was $11.23 U.S. in Q3 compared to $11.05 U.S. that was forecast.
Meta said that it is seeing faster growth in its digital ad business following a difficult 2022 when revenue dropped for three consecutive quarters.
Ad sales in Q3 of this year grew by $27.71 billion U.S. from a year earlier, said the company.
On an earnings call with media and analysts, Meta executives said they have seen a 7% increase in time spent on Facebook and a 6% increase on Instagram so far this year.
Looking ahead, Meta guided that it expects revenue of $36.5 billion U.S. to $40 billion U.S. in the current fourth quarter of the year.
That forward guidance was below Wall Street expectations for sales of $38.85 billion U.S. in Q4.
The disappointing guidance overshadowed the strong Q3 print and sent Meta’s stock down 3% in after-hours trading.
Meta’s share price has increased 130% over the last 12 months to trade at $299.53 U.S. as of Oct. 25.
