Meta Platforms jumps 6% on earnings beat, advertising resilience

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024. Meta Platforms shares jumped more than 6% Thursday after the company topped earnings expectations and showed advertising resilience in a murky macroeconomic environment. "Key here is that Meta's adv. demand trends appear to be relatively healthy and while we're watching for any impacts from macro and lower spend from China-based advertisers given the de minimis change, Meta's scale of users and advertisers + focus on newer products are offsetting some macro challenges," wrote Citi's Ronald Josey. First-quarter revenues grew 16% from a year ago to $42.31 billion and topped a $41.10 billion estimate from LSEG. Earnings came in at $6.43 per share, versus the $5.28 per share expectation. Net income reached $16.64 billion, jumping 35% from $12.37 billion in the year-ago quarter. The company also issued in-line guidance for the current period. Meta's finance chief Susan Li said the co ... Read full article.