Meta shares rose in extended trading after the firm announced a $40 billion stock repurchase and posted fourth-quarter revenue that exceeded expectations.
During the fourth quarter of 2022, the business also recorded restructuring expenses of $3.76 billion and $440 million for its Family of Apps segment and Reality Labs subsidiary, respectively.
Meta forecasts revenue of $26 billion to $28.5 billion in the first quarter. According to Refinitv, analysts expected sales of $27.1 billion. In the first quarter of 2021, sales totalled $27.9 billion. If Meta achieves the upper end of its guidance range, it may be able to break its year-over-year slide streak.
“Our community continues to grow and I’m pleased with the strong engagement across our apps. Our management theme for 2023 is the ‘Year of Efficiency’ and we’re focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement.
Meta reported a 20% year-over-year increase in headcount to 86,482 as of December 31, 2022. This figure includes a sizable portion of the roughly 11,000 employees laid off by Meta in November.
The business expects total expenses in 2023 to be in the $89 billion to $95 billion range, which is lower than its previous forecast of $94 billion to $100 billion for the year. Meta attributed the change to “slower anticipated growth in payroll expenses and cost of revenue.”
