Why did Meta Platforms shares rise almost 14%? Look at the ad sales
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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on Thursday gave its shareholders the kind of enthusiasm not seen in more than a year as the social-media giant's shares climbed almost 14% in the wake of a strong earnings report and business outlook.
By the time U.S. stock markets closed, Meta (META) shares had risen to $238.56 a piece--a level last reached in February 2022. The impetus for the day's gain was the company reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results, and an upbeat revenue outlook that suggested Meta (META) was seeing improvements its in core advertising business.
Along those lines, Meta (META) on Wednesday reported first-quarter advertising revenue of $28.1B, which exceeded analysts' estimates for $26.88B in ad sales.
Meta (META) also said it was nearly done with a round of layoffs that will cut 11,000 jobs from the company's employee rolls. The job cuts are part of Meta's (META) efforts to reduce expenses in what Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has called a "year of efficiency" for the company.
More on Meta and Facebook:
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