Why did Meta Platforms stock rocket 18% today? Relief over Q1 earnings
Erikona/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images

Facebook parent Meta Platforms' stock (NASDAQ:FB) jumped 17.7% Thursday, having what appeared to be its best day ever, following its first-quarter earnings report.
It marked the first time the stock had risen by a double-digit percentage since a 10% gain in March 2020, though it pulled off a few double-digit drops since then.
The question leading up to the company's Q1 print would be whether the results would come out better than February's poorly received release of fourth-quarter earnings. And the answer from most people going in: How could they not?
Q1's disappointment led to the "faceplant" of a 26.4% stock slide on Feb. 3 - a loss in value of $230 billion, far and away the biggest single-day wipeout in equity ever.
Meta missed revenue expectations substantially Wednesday, and its user metrics across its Family of Apps were in line at best. But importantly, profits beat consensus - and Facebook's daily active users returned to gains and beat expectations after a rare decline the previous quarter.
Analysts generally took the view that however the results were viewed, they weren't as bad as feared, and noted the company is properly looking to cut expenses in a move to support long-term profitability. On the company's earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an early note of saying that "with our current business growth levels, we are now planning to slow the pace of some of our investments."
Meta sees 2022 total expenses coming in at $87 billion-$92 billion, down from its prior outlook for $90 billion-$95 billion.
Even with a 39% year-to-date decline coming into Thursday, the stock still holds an important place in the digital advertising pantheon: The postmarket surge in Meta stock carried over to most of its large digital-ad peers.