US company Meta has announced a profit of $14 billion in the past three months. According to the American channel Alhurra, Mark Zuckerberg, the head of Meta, the technology giant that owns Facebook and Instagram, stated on Friday that revenues increased to $40.1 billion this quarter, with approximately 3.1 billion people using the social network monthly. He added that the last quarter was good as both their community and business continued to grow.
It is worth noting that Meta’s stock rose more than 12% to reach $445 in after-hours trading.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has been in the news recently for several significant developments. Firstly, the company reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2023, projecting an increase in expenses for 2024, particularly due to higher infrastructure-related costs, payroll expenses, and increased operating losses in its Reality Labs division. This division focuses on product development in augmented and virtual reality. Meta anticipates its capital expenditures for 2024 to range between $30-35 billion, driven by investments in servers, AI hardware, and data centers.
In a notable move, Meta declared its first dividend ahead of Facebook’s 20th anniversary, coinciding with a report of revenue and profit exceeding expectations, largely attributed to robust ad sales during the holiday shopping period. This announcement led to a more than 14% increase in Meta’s shares after hours, significantly boosting the company’s market valuation. The dividend was set at 50 cents per share, and Meta also authorized an additional $50 billion in share repurchases. This decision marks a milestone for Meta as the first among its generation of internet giants to issue a dividend, highlighting its growth from a college dorm room project to the world’s largest social media company.
