Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB), which dragged the markets lower during the last quarter, reported pretty decent quarterly earnings numbers last night, which sent the stock soaring in the after-market hours. We are also expecting the stock to perform well today.
Remember, stocks like Meta, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), or Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are classified as mega stocks, and their earnings report are powerful to lift or tank sentiment in the equity markets.
Facebook's earnings per share came in at $2.72 against the expectations of $2.56. The revenue for the quarter was $27.91 billion versus $28.2 billion expectations. The daily active users number improved, and the company reported it at 1.96 billion against 1.95 billion expectations. Another essential metric's average revenue per user increased to $9.54 versus the $9.50 forecast.
Revenue increased by 7% in the third quarter. The single-digit growth number reported by the company was the first time in its 10-year history since it went public. Analysts predicted 7.8 per cent growth.
In the third quarter, Facebook's family of applications, including the core app, Instagram, and WhatsApp, accounted for 97.5 per cent of revenue. The remaining $695 million came from Reality Labs, the firm's division tasked with developing items for the metaverse.
What was even more positive for investors was that Facebook reduced its overall cost outlook for 2022 to between $87 billion and $92 billion, from $90 billion to $95 billion before. It anticipates its family of applications category to contribute the majority of that spending rise, followed by Reality Labs.