Meta Platforms returns to user growth

Social media giant Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms issued quarterly results reflecting that daily active users (DAU) were finally making a comeback. This pleased investors, which saw shares rise about 18% in after-market trading, with the stock sitting at $207 per share. 

After leaving investors wary that Meta was losing momentum in the previous quarter, where results showed that the platform was bleeding users – many were left on their toes to see what the latest developments would provide. 

Daily active users, which declined last quarter for the first time in a decade, bounced slightly from 1.93 billion to 1.96 billion. 

In addition to increased DAUs, the Company also exceeded average revenue per user expectations. Other metrics were a miss, falling short of expectations surveyed by Refinitive. 

Revenue rose 7% from US$26.2bn to US$27.9bn, where expectations were around 7.8% – this was the first time revenue was booked in the single digits. The Company has forecasted revenue for the second quarter to be between US$28bn to US$30bn, slightly less than expectations indicated at US$30.6bn. 

“We made progress this quarter across a number of key company priorities and we remain confident in the long-term opportunities and growth that our product roadmap will unlock,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO.

Meta’s subsidiaries, including WhatsApp and Instagram, accounted for 97.5% of revenue for the quarter. The remaining 2.5%, or US$695 million, was produced by the Company’s Reality Labs, which has been building products for the Metaverse. 

In the Company’s previous report, total expenses for growth, which included investments in products and infrastructure costs, were to be in the range of USD $90-95b – this would consist of developing its Metaverse technology. This guidance was lowered to somewhere between $$87bn and US$92bn, where it is expected that most of that expense growth to be driven by its subsidiaries, followed by Reality Labs. 

The after-hours rally still leaves the stock way down for this year. As of the close last night, shares had shaved off at least half of its value for 2022. This move was one of the biggest single-day moves since 2013, which saw the stock climb 26% – just over a year after its IPO in 2012.