Meta’s net profit in the fourth quarter dropped by 55%, and the annual loss of Metaverse business was 13.7 billion US dollars

Meta

Fenghuang.com Technology News Beijing time on February 2, Facebook parent company Meta (NASDAQ: META) today released its financial report for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal year 2022 ending on December 31. The financial report shows that Meta’s total revenue in the fourth quarter was US$32.165 billion, a decrease of 4% from US$33.671 billion in the same period last year; net profit was US$4.652 billion, a 55% drop from US$10.285 billion in the same period last year.

Meta’s fourth-quarter revenue beat expectations and announced an additional $40 billion in share repurchases, sending shares up 18% in after-hours trading.

Stock performance:

Meta shares rose 18.14% after hours

Meta opened at $148.03 on the Nasdaq exchange on Wednesday. As of Wednesday’s close, Meta’s share price rose $4.15, or 2.79%, to close at $153.12. As of 17:00 U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday (6:00 Beijing Time on Thursday), Meta’s stock price rose 18.14% from $27.77 to $180.89 in after-hours trading. In the past 52 weeks, the highest price of Meta stock price was 328 US dollars, and the lowest price was 88.09 US dollars.

Highlights of operations in the fourth quarter:

——In December 2022, the average daily active population (DAP) of the family is 2.96 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5%;

——As of December 31, 2022, monthly active family members (MAP) were 3.74 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4%;

——In December 2022, the average daily active user (DAU) of Facebook is 2 billion people, a year-on-year increase of 4%;

——As of December 31, 2022, Facebook monthly active users (MAU) were 2.96 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2%.

Fourth Quarter Financial Results:

——The total revenue was 32.165 billion US dollars, a decrease of 4% from the 33.671 billion US dollars in the same period of the previous year; among them, the operating loss of the reality laboratory department responsible for the metaverse business was 4.28 billion US dollars, and the annual loss expanded to 13.72 billion US dollars;

— Total costs and expenses were US$25.766 billion, an increase of 22% from US$21.086 billion in the same period last year;

——The operating profit was US$6.399 billion, a decrease of 49% from US$12.585 billion in the same period of the previous year; the operating profit margin was 20%, a decrease of 17 percentage points from 37% in the same period of the previous year;

——Net profit was US$4.652 billion, down 55% from US$10.285 billion in the same period last year;

— Diluted earnings per share were $1.76, down 52% from $3.67 in the same period last year;

——The effective tax rate was 24%, an increase of 5 percentage points from 19% in the same period of the previous year;

— Long-term debt of $9.92 billion as of December 31, 2022;

——In the fourth quarter and the full year of 2022, capital expenditures were US$9.22 billion and US$32.04 billion, including principal repayments for financial leases;

——As of December 31, 2022, the total number of Meta employees was 86,482, a year-on-year increase of 20%, including most of the employees in the approximately 11,000 layoff plan.

— As of December 31, 2022, Meta’s cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $40.74 billion.

2022 annual results highlights:

— Total revenue of $116.609 billion, down 1% from $117.929 billion in fiscal 2021;

— Operating profit was US$28.944 billion, down 38% from US$46.753 billion in fiscal 2021;

——Net profit was US$23.200 billion, down 41% from US$39.370 billion in fiscal 2021.

$40 billion in stock repurchases

Meta said the company has repurchased $6.91 billion of Class A common stock in the fourth quarter and $27.93 billion in the full year of fiscal 2022, respectively. As of December 31, 2022, Meta has an additional $10.87 billion repurchase facility.

Meta also announced today that it will increase the authorization of its repurchase program by $40 billion.

Outlook:

Meta expects total revenue in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 to be in the range of $26 billion to $28.5 billion, taking into account foreign exchange rates encountering headwinds of approximately 2% year-over-year growth; capital expenditures in fiscal year 2023 to be in the range of $89 billion Between US$95 billion and US$95 billion, lower than the previous estimate of US$91 billion to US$100 billion; capital expenditures will be between US$30 billion and US$33 billion, lower than the previous estimate of US$34 billion to US$37 billion. (Author/Xiao Yu)

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