Meta, owner of Facebook, has performed better than expected, and shares soar

Shares in Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, jumped 19% this Wednesday (1st) after the company released a better-than-expected result in sales for the last quarter of 2022. Big tech still authorized $40 additional billions in share buybacks.

The company’s net profit, however, fell 55% in the annual comparison, to US$ 4.7 billion – less than the US$ 6 billion expected by analysts -, reflecting restructuring costs. According to the company, it spent $4.2 billion on job cuts, canceling several data centers and consolidating facilities.

Meta reported revenue of $32.2 billion for the quarter, down 4% year-over-year. The number was above analysts’ estimates, which projected $31.7 billion, according to S&P Capital IQ.

The results are positive for Meta and outline a more optimistic outlook for the company. Big tech has been under pressure from the economic slowdown, which has taken a toll on its advertising earnings. Meta has also been facing increased competition from the Chinese app TikTok and challenges in adapting and evaluating advertising campaigns following Apple’s privacy changes.

Monthly active users on one or more of its apps increased 4% to 3.74 billion in the fourth quarter, while the number of Facebook app users specifically increased 2% to 2.96 billion.

In a conference call with investors, Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, said that his management motto in 2023 is “efficiency”.

The company would focus on removing some layers of middle management, cutting underperforming projects and deploying artificial intelligence tools to help its engineers be more productive, he said.

“[O ano de] 2022 was challenging, but I think we ended up making good progress on our top priorities and getting ready to deliver better results this year, as long as we continue to focus on efficiency,” added Zuckerberg.