Meta Platforms rockets as Q4 revenue surpasses expectations, unveils $40B buyback
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) shares soared in extended-hours trading on Wednesday, gaining more than 18%, after the tech giant reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations and unveiled a $40B share buyback program.
Led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Platforms (META) earned an adjusted $1.76 per share on $32.17B in revenue, including $31.44B from its family of apps, which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The company's Reality Labs unit accounted for $727M in the quarter, also topping estimates.
Analysts were expecting Meta (META) to earn $2.23 per share on $31.69B in revenue.
Other advertising-centric stocks moved higher following the results, including Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) and Pinterest (PINS).
Meta's (META) Facebook ended the period with 2.96B monthly active users and 2B daily active users. In total, it ended the period with 3.74B monthly active users for its family of apps and 2.96B daily active users.
In a statement, Zuckerberg said that the progress Meta (META) is making on its artificial intelligence discovery engine and Reels is being seen in the strong engagement in its apps.
Zuckerberg also said that the company's management theme for 2023 is the "Year of Efficiency" and the company is "focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization."
Meta (META) ended the fiscal year with 86,482 employees, including a "substantial majority" of the approximately 11,000 employees it said it would let go this past November as the company continues to right size itself.
Menlo Park, California-based Meta (META) spent $6.91B buying back its own stock in the period and has $10.87B left from a previous repurchase program. The company announced a $40B increase in its share repurchase plan in conjunction with the results.
Looking ahead to the first-quarter, Meta (META) expects revenue to be between $26B and $28.5B, topping the $27.25B that analysts were expecting.
Meta's CFO Susan Li said the company expects 2023 full-year expenses to be between $89B and $95B, down from a prior outlook of a range between $94B and $100B due to slower growth in payroll expenses and cost of revenue. 
Li added that Meta (META) also expects to record $1B in restructuring charges related to consolidating its offices, down from a prior estimate of $2B, as some of the charges were recorded in the fourth-quarter.
Meta (META) is slated to hold a conference call at 5 p.m. EST to discuss the results.
A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Meta Platforms (META) can buy virtual reality company Within Unlimited in a blow to the Federal Trade Commission and its Chairwoman, Lina Khan.