Topline
Meta delivered its strongest sales and profits in its history last quarter, the firm shared in its earnings report Wednesday afternoon, as Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire continues to reverse course from its brutal 2022, though the stock slipped after the company warned of potentially softening demand for its core advertising business.
Key Facts
The Facebook parent company reported $34.1 billion in sales and $4.39 earnings per share during the three-month stretch ending September 30, topping average respective analyst estimates of $33.6 billion and $3.64.
That makes Q3 Meta’s most profitable quarter ever, also bringing in its highest quarterly gross revenue on record.
Shares of Meta rose about 4% after the results’ release, paring the stock’s 4% loss in normal trading hours after competitor Alphabet’s earnings disappointed, though shares later reversed course to a 4% loss after CFO Susan Li warned of potentially waning ad demand tied to the war in Israel.
Meta, which generates more than 95% of revenue from advertising, can trace much of its topline success to advertisers’ increasing willingness to spend once again, with Meta’s ad sales up 24% year-over-year.
And much of the improved profits stem from significant cost-cutting measures, with expenses down 8% year-over year as part of Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” headlined by more than 20,000 layoffs.
Still, the company reported $3.7 billion of losses in Zuckerberg’s pet metaverse division, bringing the total losses of the augmented and virtual reality unit since its 2021 inception to over $35 billion.
Tangent
Meta faced among its most significant legal challenges yet Tuesday when 33 states sued the company for allegedly misleading Americans about the dangers of its Facebook and Instagram platforms on youths’ mental health.
Big Number
140%. That’s how much Meta stock is up this year, making it the second best-performing stock on the S&P 500.
Key Background
Despite this year’s boom, Meta shares are still down about 15% from their 2021 peak thanks to its 60% drop last year. The staggering losses came as investors failed to buy into Zuckerberg’s pivot away from social media and into the metaverse, highlighted by the company’s October 2021 name change from Facebook to Meta, and ad dollars dried up. But Wall Street bought back into the company’s vision after the company delivered a trio of strong earnings reports this year.
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