Meta posts $40.6 billion revenue in best quarterly performance ever
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has posted a record revenue of $40.58 billion for Q3 2024. This is a whopping 19% increase from last year's numbers. The company's strong advertising growth contributed significantly to this financial success, with ad revenue hitting an impressive $39.8 billion for the quarter. These results surpassed Wall Street's forecasted total revenue of $40.29 billion, showcasing Meta's strong market performance this quarter.
Meta's net income and AI advancements
Meta's net income for Q3 stood at a whopping $15.69 billion, a massive 35% jump from last year. This amounts to earnings of $6.03 per share, exceeding expectations of $5.25 per share, according to LSEG data. CEO Mark Zuckerberg credited the strong performance to developments in artificial intelligence (AI), saying "AI progress across our apps and business" played a major role in the successful quarter.
User growth and future revenue projections
In terms of user engagement, Meta said daily active users across its suite of apps averaged 3.29 billion in the September quarter. This is a 5% increase over last year and a slight rise from June's figure of 3.27 billion users. Looking ahead, Meta has projected Q4 revenue to be between $45 billion and $48 billion, in line with analyst expectations.
Meta's capital expenditure and AI investments
For the entire year of 2024, Meta has updated its capital expenditure guidance to $38 billion-$40 billion. This is up from the previous estimate of $37 billion-$40 billion. The company expects capital expenditure to grow significantly in 2025, with AI investments leading the charge. This comes as major tech players in Silicon Valley are ramping up their competition in the AI arena.
Meta's Reality Labs division reports losses
Despite the strong financials overall, Meta's Reality Labs division — which handles augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) products such as the Quest headset and metaverse efforts — posted losses. The unit saw sales of $270 million, up from $210 million a year ago but also an operating loss of $4.43 billion. That's up from a $3.74 billion loss in the same period last year, underscoring the financial woes of the division.
Meta India reports 24% growth in gross advertising revenue
In other developments, Meta India also reported a 24% growth in gross advertising revenue for the fiscal year ending on March 31. The company's filings with the RoC showed that it stood at ₹22,730 crore as against ₹18,308 crore in the last fiscal year. This shows a strong regional performance for Meta in terms of advertising revenue generation.
Zuckerberg warns of significant future spending
Zuckerberg has warned investors that Meta will continue to spend heavily on infrastructure and other projects like the metaverse and AI-powered glasses. He believes these efforts are central to the company's future. This will be backed by the ads business, which isn't generating the kind of momentum Wall Street expected. Shares fell more than 2.8% in extended trading after this announcement, reflecting investor reactions to these plans.
