Meta reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter as revenue increased 23%, the fastest rate of growth since 2021. The stock rose more than 4% in extended trading on Wednesday.
- Earnings: $4.39 per share vs $3.63 per share expected by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
- Revenue: $34.15 billion vs $33.56 billion expected by LSEG.
Investors will also be focused on user numbers:
- Daily active users (DAUs): 2.09 billion vs 2.07 billion expected, according to StreetAccount
- Monthly active users (MAUs): 3.05 billion vs 3.05 billion expected, according to StreetAccount
- Average revenue per user (ARPU): $11.05 expected, according to StreetAccount
For the fourth quarter, Meta said it expects revenue of $36.5 billion to $40 billion. Analysts were expecting sales for the quarter of $38.85 billion, according to LSEG. At the mid-point of the range, growth in the quarter will be about 19% from a year earlier.
Meta said that its total expense outlook for 2023 will be in the range of $87 billion to $89 billion, which is down from its previous forecast of $88 billion to $91 billion.
The company said that its 2024 total expense outlook will fall in the range of $94 billion to $99 billion.
Meta’s Reality Labs division that focusses on virtual reality and augmented reality technologies generated $3.74 billion in operating losses for the quarter.
The social networking giant said it now has 3.9 billion monthly active people.
Meta now has 66,185 employees as of Sep. 30, 2023, which is a 24% year-over-year decrease. The company added that “a substantial majority of the employees” who were part of its major cost-cutting efforts are no longer included in its headcount.
WATCH: Attorney generals around the country file lawsuit against Meta over addictive features.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Refinitiv is now known as LSEG. A previous version of this story misspelled the company name.
