Meta Q1 Results: Facebook parent more than doubles profit to $12.37 billion, revenue up 27% to $36.46 billion

livemint.com:

Meta Q1 Results: Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of social media majors Facebook and Instagram announced its first quarter results on April 24. The tech giant reported a significant surge — more than doubling numbers — in its Q1 profit, AP reported. The profit increase was driven by increased advertising revenue and a 6 percent rise in average ad prices on its platforms, it added.

However, despite the positive earnings, the company saw a sharp decline in its shares, tanking 16 percent during after-hours trading, due to lukewarm revenue projections, as per the report. Meta more than doubled its profit for the January-March period, with earnings reaching $12.37 billion, or $4.71 per share, up from $5.71 billion, or $2.20 per share, in the same period last year. Additionally, revenue saw a 27 percent rise to $36.46 billion, as compared to $28.65 billion the year ago.

According to a poll by FactSet, analysts had anticipated earnings of $4.32 per share on revenue of $36.14 billion, slightly lower than Meta's reported figures. Looking ahead, the company provided revenue guidance for the current quarter, expecting it to range between $36.5-39 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $38.25 billion for the second quarter. Meta revealed plans for increased capital expenses this year (2024), primarily due to investments in artificial intelligence (AI).

The company forecasts expenses in the range of $35-40 billion, compared to its earlier guidance of $30-37 billion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted Meta's commitment to AI, unveiling new AI systems aimed at enhancing user experience. Earlier in April, Meta unveiled a new set of AI systems that are powering what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls “the most intelligent AI assistant