Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) shares rocketed after Thursday’s closing bell as the tech giant once again outperformed Wall Street's expectations, this time for the fourth quarter and full year 2023.
The Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp parent company reported 4Q revenue of $40.1 billion, up from $32.2 billion in the year-ago quarter and ahead of estimates of $39 billion.
Earnings per share (EPS) rose from $1.76 to $5.33, compared to expectations of $4.83.
"We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. "We've made a lot of progress on our vision for advancing AI and the metaverse."
For the full year 2023, Meta posted earnings per share of $14.87 on revenue of $134.9 billion, topping estimates of $14.40 and $133.8 billion respectively.
Facebook daily active users rose 6% year-over-year to 2.11 billion in December 2023, while monthly active users rose 3% to 3.07 billion.
Daily active people across its family of apps were 3.19 billion, up 8% year-over-year, while monthly active people were up 6% to 3.98 billion.
Meanwhile, Meta reported total costs and expenses of $23.7 billion for 4Q and $88.2 billion for the full year, representing an 8% and 1% decrease respectively over the prior comparable periods.
Its headcount was 67,317 as of the year-end, down 22% year-over-year.
Meta’s shares gained 12.2% at US$443 in afterhours trade Thursday shortly following the release of its earnings report.