Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB), the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, shares tumbled more than 13% in after-hours trading on Wednesday as the tech giant reported disappointing third-quarter results.
For the quarter ended September 30, 2022, the company reported revenue of $27.71 billion, narrowly beating the consensus market expectation of $27.44 billion, but coming in 4% below revenue for the year-ago quarter of $29.01 billion.
The company noted that had foreign exchange rates remained constant with the third quarter of 2021, revenue would have been $1.79 billion higher.
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Meta missed on earnings, posting net income for the quarter of $4.4 billion or diluted earnings per share of $1.64, below the consensus expectation of $1.90. This also represented a 52% decrease from its net income in 3Q 2021 of $9.19 billion.
In terms of operational highlights, the number of Facebook daily active users increased by 3% year-over-year to 1.98 billion, above the expected 1.86 billion.
Facebook monthly active users increased 2% year-over-year to 2.96 billion, in line with the expected 2.97 billion.
Regarding its outlook, the company said in a statement that it believes its 4Q revenue will be in the range of $30 billion to $32.5 billion. Analysts had been expecting revenue guidance of $32.5 billion.
“While we face near-term challenges on revenue, the fundamentals are there for a return to stronger revenue growth” commented Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“We're approaching 2023 with a focus on prioritization and efficiency that will help us navigate the current environment and emerge an even stronger company.”
Shortly after the release of its results, Meta’s shares were trading down about 13.2% at about $112.7 per share.
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