Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (later Meta founder and CEO) testifies before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee during An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Oct. 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
"We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow," says Mark Zuckerberg.
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. social media giant Meta Platforms, Inc. on Thursday reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year ending Dec. 31, 2023, with drastic increases in net income and revenue.
The company posted a fourth quarter net income of 14.0 billion U.S. dollars, a 201 percent jump from 4.65 billion dollars in the same period in 2022, and a full-year net income of 39.1 billion dollars, up 69 percent from 23.2 billion dollars in the previous year.
Meta's quarterly revenue was 40.1 billion dollars, up 25 percent year over year, and its yearly total revenue reached 134.9 billion dollars, a 16 percent increase year over year.
"We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow," said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. "We've made a lot of progress on our vision for advancing AI and the metaverse."
The diluted earnings per share for the year reached 14.87 dollars from 8.59 dollars in 2023.
Facebook monthly active users increased 3 percent year over year to 3.07 billion as of Dec. 31, 2023, while daily active users were 2.11 billion on average for last December, an increase of 6 percent year over year, said the company, based in Menlo Park, Northern California.
Meta's total costs and expenses were 23.7 billion dollars and 88.2 billion dollars, a decline of 8 percent and an increase of 1 percent year over year for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023, respectively.
Its cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were 65.40 billion dollars as of Dec. 31, 2023, according to the company.
Meta expects its first quarter 2024 total revenue to be in the range between 34.5 and 37 billion dollars. "Our guidance assumes foreign currency is neutral to year-over-year total revenue growth, based on current exchange rates," the company said.
It expects full-year 2024 total expenses to be in the range of 94 to 99 billion dollars, unchanged from its prior outlook.
The company expects its capital expenditures in 2024 to be in the range of 30 to 37 billion dollars, a 2 billion dollars increase of the high end of the prior range. ■
