Meta Platforms (META) reported first quarter results after the close on Wednesday that blew away expectations while the company also raised its forecast for the current quarter and lowered its expense forecast.
The Facebook and Instagram parent company saw shares surge as much as 11% in after hours trading. Meta, which has touted 2023 as its “Year of Efficiency” said in the release that it has “substantially completed” its 2022 layoffs, though it continues to conduct layoffs this year.
Last month, Meta announced it would lay off 10,000 workers, building on the company’s previous layoff announcement back in November.
Here are the most important numbers from Meta’s earnings, compared to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
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Revenue: $28.65 billion actual versus $27.67 billion estimated
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EPS: $2.20 actual versus $2.01 estimated
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Advertising Revenue: $28.1 billion actual versus $26.76 billion estimated
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Family of Apps Revenue: $28.3 billion actual versus $26.88 billion estimated
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Reality Labs Operating Losses: $3.99 billion actual versus $3.8 billion estimated
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Q2 Revenue: $29.5 billion-$32 billion actual versus $29.48 billion estimated
“We had a good quarter and our community continues to grow,” said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a statement.
“Our AI work is driving good results across our apps and business. We’re also becoming more ecient so we can build better products faster and put ourselves in a stronger position to deliver our long term vision.”
If this earnings cycle is about cost-cutting in Big Tech, perhaps no company has been more ruthless than Meta.
In October, the company was guiding for 2023 expenses to come in between $96 billion-$101 billion. In Wednesday’s release, the company said it now sees expenses for this year come in between $86 billion-$90 billion, including restructuring costs.
This also accounts for losses in the company’s metaverse division, Reality Labs, which are expected to continue and increase year-over-year.
Reality Labs lost $13.7 billion in 2022.
Allie Garfinkle is a Senior Tech Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @agarfinks and on LinkedIn.
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