Meta Platforms (FB); Former Facebook

[winston]

not vested

Meta reported better than expected results for the third quarter as revenue increased 23%, the fastest rate of growth since 2021.

Earnings per share was US$4.39 vs. US$3.63 expected while revenue came in at US$34.15 billion vs. US$33.56 billion expected.

In terms of user numbers, Daily active users (DAUs) were 2.09 billion vs. 2.07 billion expected,

Monthly active users (MAUs) were 3.05 billion vs. 3.05 billion expected and Average revenue per user (ARPU) was US$11.23 vs. US$11.05 expected.

Meta is seeing faster growth in its core digital ads business as clients rebound from a tough 2022, when revenue dropped for three straight quarters.

Sales jumped from US$27.71 billion a year earlier.

Net income rose 164% to US$11.58 billion, or US$4.39 a share, from US$4.4 billion, or US$1.64 a share, a year earlier.

During the earnings call, Susan Li, Meta’s finance chief, said that online commerce was the biggest contributor to year-over-year growth in ad revenue, followed by consumer packaged goods and gaming.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that so far this year, the company has seen a 7% increase in time spent on Facebook and a 6% bump on Instagram “as a result of our recommendation improvements.”

For the fourth quarter, Meta said it expects revenue of US$36.5 billion to US$40 billion vs. expected US$38.85 billion.

At the midpoint of the range, growth in the quarter will be about 19% higher from a year earlier.

Meta said expenses for 2023 will be in the range between US$87 billion and US$89 billion, which is down from its previous forecast of US$88 billion to US$91 billion.

Expenses for 2024 will fall in the range between US$94 billion and US$99 billion.

Meta’s Reality Labs division, which focusses on virtual reality and augmented reality technologies, racked up US$3.74 billion in operating losses for the quarter. It has now lost close to US$25 billion since the start of last year.

The company said it expects Reality Labs’ operating losses “to increase meaningfully year-over-year due to our ongoing product development efforts in augmented reality/virtual reality and our investments to further scale our ecosystem.”

Source: Phillips

[behappyalways]

Zuck's Money Pit: Metaverse Bet Bleeds Billions
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/zu ... s-billions

[winston]

not vested

Facebook - Stock Analyst Research
Target Price* 375.00
Recommendation BUY

Meta Platforms Inc. - Reaping the benefits of efficiency

3Q23 results were within expectations.

9M23 revenue/PATMI were at 72%/73% of our FY23e forecasts.

Earnings grew ~2.5x YoY as expenses declined despite the jump in revenue.

Advertising trends continued to accelerate (24% YoY), with Reels monetisation no longer a headwind on ranking improvements and higher ad supply.

Wide 4Q23e revenue guidance (13%-24% YoY) implying concerns over volatility in the Middle East.

FY24e total expense growth reaccelerating to 10% YoY.

We nudge our FY23e revenue estimates higher by 2% on better advertising revenue, and widen EBITDA/net margins by 1% on lower total expenses.

We expect META to benefit from the recovery in digital advertising, and sustain 30+% margins given its lower cost-structure.

We upgrade to a BUY rating from ACCUMULATE, with a raised DCF target price of US$375.00 (prev. US$360.00).

Source: Phillips

https://www.poems.com.sg/stock-research/META/

[winston]

The FAANG stock to avoid in 2024: Meta Platforms

The company's all-in bet on the metaverse is years away from paying metaphorical dividends.

The Reality Labs division's revenues amount to a rounding error in Meta's overall financial structure, clocking in at 0.6% of total sales in the recent third-quarter report. But management is leaning into that potential growth driver with all its might. Those $210 million in third-quarter revenues came at the cost of an operating loss of $3.7 billion for the Reality Labs division.

In sum, Meta Platforms seems like a momentum-powered stock right now and I'm not convinced that AI will be a game-changer for the company.

If and when the broader market reaches the same conclusion, Meta's stock could experience a painful price correction. Until then, I'd rather keep my hands off this overheated social media stock, even if it is part of the market-beating FAANG group.

Source: Motley Fool

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2-faang- ... 00119.html

[behappyalways]

Meta will spend 280 billion to buy AI chips.
Huida and AMD soar to record highs.
Meta will buy 350,000 Huida AI chips.
Meta’s market value will soon return to US$1 trillion

Meta要花2800億買AI晶片 輝達.超微飆上史高 要買35萬張輝達AI晶片 Meta市值快回1兆美元｜非凡新聞｜20240119

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5KXt-9Plczc

[winston]

not vested

Meta soars

Facebook parent Meta shares surged on better-than-expected results and a first-ever dividend payment.

The results showed the company’s online ad business continues to rebound from a brutal 2022.

Part of Meta’s financial recovery was also driven by Chinese retailers.

Source: CNBC

[winston]

not vested

Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) – Thursday, February 1

Meta Platforms announced its fourth-quarter results Thursday afternoon.

Revenue increased 24.7% year-over-year to $40.11 billion and also beat Wall Street consensus estimates for revenue of $39.17 billion.

Meanwhile, earnings per share surged 202.8% year-over-year to $5.33 per share, up from earnings of $1.76 per share in the same quarter of last year. Analysts were calling for earnings of $4.94 per share.

Facebook daily active users rose 6% year-over-year to 2.11 billion, while Facebook monthly active users rose 3% year-over-year to 3.07 billion.

Now, Meta’s Reality Labs sales passed $1 billion in the fourth quarter, but the virtual reality unit recorded $4.65 billion in losses. The company noted that they expect operating losses to increase meaningfully year-over-year due to ongoing product development efforts in the augmented/virtual reality space.

During its earnings call, Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stated:

We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow. We’ve made a lot of progress on our vision for advancing AI and the metaverse.

Now, the biggest news from this earnings report is that META initiated a quarterly dividend and boosted its stock buyback authorization by $50 billion. The company pay its first quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share on March 26. All shareholders of record on February 22 will receive the dividend.

Wall Street cheered this news and META shares popped on Friday, rising nearly 22% and adding a historic $200 billion to the company’s market cap.

Source: Market 360

[behappyalways]

$META added $205.3B of market cap on Friday, the largest one-day addition in history
https://twitter.com/Mayhem4Markets/stat ... 5811336314

[winston]

not vested

1Q Earnings

Meta: Last quarter, Facebook-parent company Meta revealed that China accounted for 10% of its ad revenue as a result of marketing blitzes by big Chinese firms like Shein and Temu.

That’s something of a mixed blessing: At a time of heightened trade tensions between China and the U.S., Meta is running a risk by relying on too much Chinese wind in its ad sails.

And with the fate of TikTok in the U.S. up in the air, a fresh surge of Chinese advertisers could be on the horizon for Meta.

Source: Fortune

[winston]

not vested

Meta profits soar but costs of AI cause worry

More than 3.2 billion people use at least one of our apps each day and we are seeing healthy growth in the US.

By the end of the year, Meta could also start selling advertising on Threads, its text message platform similar to X (formerly Twitter).

With ads on Threads, “advertisers who are looking to reach audiences during real-time moments will finally have a viable alternative to X”.

Its global workforce now stood at 69,329, slightly more than last quarter, but down from a peak of more than 87,000 employees in 2022.

Because of investments in AI, Meta said it anticipated full year 2024 capital expenditures will be in the range of 35 to US$40 billion increased from a prior range of 30 to US$37 billion.

Source: AFP

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/compan ... ause-worry