Meta Platforms exceeded Wall Avenue expectations in its fourth-quarter earnings, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg forecasting a major yr for AI. Regardless of an preliminary surge, the corporate’s inventory rose in prolonged buying and selling on Wednesday.
The social media large reported quarterly income of $48.39 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $47.04 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) stood at $8.02, exceeding the projected $6.77. Gross sales grew 21% in comparison with the identical interval final yr. For the primary quarter of 2025, Meta anticipates income between $39.5 billion and $41.8 billion, with analysts’ midpoint estimates at $41.73 billion.
General, the corporate reported a internet revenue of $20,838 million.
Regardless of the upbeat earnings report, Meta shares traded 1% increased at $684 in after-hours buying and selling, retreating from an preliminary 5% spike.
Meta’s AI chatbot has reached 700 million month-to-month energetic customers, and Zuckerberg expects it to cross 1 billion this yr. “As soon as a service reaches that type of scale, it often develops a sturdy, long run benefit,” he instructed analysts.
“In AI, I count on that that is going to be the yr when a extremely smart and personalised AI assistant reaches greater than 1 billion individuals,” Zuckerberg mentioned throughout the earnings name. “And I count on Meta AI to be that main AI assistant.”
The corporate is sustaining a $60 billion to $65 billion capital expenditure plan for 2025 to strengthen its AI initiatives.
Zuckerberg additionally expressed optimism in regards to the political local weather beneath the brand new US administration, suggesting it will favour American tech dominance. “We now have a US administration that’s happy with our main corporations, prioritises American know-how successful, and that may defend our values and pursuits overseas,” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, analysts have raised issues over Meta’s substantial AI investments because the dialog round Chinese language AI mannequin DeepSeek is making waves within the business.
Meta’s headcount was 74,067 as of December 31, 2024, which is a rise of 10% YoY.
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