(Reuters) – Meta Platforms reported April-June revenue that beat Wall Street’s expectations and provided a strong third-quarter sales forecast on Wednesday, underscoring its confidence in its ability to offset major investments in artificial intelligence (AI).
Shares of the parent company of Facebook and Instagram were up 4% after jumping 8% in after-hours trading.
In the second quarter, the group’s turnover increased by 22% to 39.1 billion dollars, while the consensus was 38.3 billion according to LSEG data.
Meta said it expects revenue for the current quarter to be between $38.5 billion and $41 billion, slightly above analysts’ expectations of $39.1 billion.
Several other tech giants that reported results earlier disappointed investors, suggesting that major investments in AI could take longer to generate expected benefits.
Microsoft said Tuesday it would spend more in the current fiscal year to build out its AI infrastructure, while Alphabet warned last week that its capital spending would remain elevated throughout the year.
Like both groups, Meta has invested billions of dollars in data centers with the aim of profiting from the craze around AI.
Its stock plunged in April after the announcement of a higher-than-expected spending forecast, ending a series of strong quarterly results for the group.
Meta on Wednesday left its annual spending forecast unchanged at between $96 billion and $99 billion.
(Yuvraj Malik in Bangalore and Katie Paul in New York; by Jean Terzian)
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