Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB). added more than US$200bn to its value as investors rushed to buy the Facebook owner following its stellar numbers overnight.
In several landmarks, Meta’s value soared comfortably past US$1trn, it surpassed Nvidia as the best-performing tech stock in 2024 and boss Mark Zuckerburg overtook Microsoft’s Bill Gates on the global rich list.
Underlying why investors love tech stocks, last night Meta announced its first-ever dividend payment as it demolished Wall Street’s forecasts.
Revenues were a ‘smidge’ over $40 billion, up 25% year over year, while earnings grew 200% to $14 billion.
Both figures were around $1 billion ahead of consensus estimates.
For the current quarter, Meta expects its turnover to be $34.5-$37 billion, again ahead of analysts' expectations.
Underpinning this was a "broad-based" increase in advertiser demand, said the research team at investment bank Oppenheimer.
Analysts believe the numbers will alleviate the pressure on Zuckerberg and the team to roll out new artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.
Shares rose 21% today to US$476.61, valuing the social media giant at US$1.23 trillion.