META Q4 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates, Rise Y/Y

Meta Platforms META reported fourth-quarter 2024 earnings of $8.02 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20.06%. The figure surged 50.5% year over year.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.Revenues of $48.385 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.02% and increased 20.6% year over year. At constant currency (cc), revenues soared 21% year over year.META’s Top-Line Growth Rides on Strong User BaseRevenues from Family of Apps (97.8% of total revenues), which includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and other services, increased 21.2% year over year to $47.302 billion.Family Daily Active People or DAP, defined as a registered and logged-in user who visited at least one of the Family products (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and/or WhatsApp) on a given day, was 3.35 billion, up 5% year over year. Meta Platforms, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Meta Platforms, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Meta Platforms, Inc. Quote Geographically, revenues from the United States & Canada, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Rest of the World (RoW) surged 17.2%, 23.1%, 21.8% and 28% on a year-over-year basis, respectively.META’s Advertising Revenues Jump Y/YAdvertising revenues (98.9% of Family of Apps revenues) increased 20.9% year over year to $46.78 billion and accounted for 96.7% of fourth-quarter revenues. At cc, revenues increased 21% year over year.Advertising revenues from the United States & Canada, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the RoW surged 18%, 23.2%, 21.8% and 26.7% on a year-over-year basis, respectively.Ad impressions delivered across Family of Apps increased 6% year over year, and the average price per ad jumped 14% in the reported quarter. Impression growth from Asia-Pacific, the RoW, the United States & Canada and Europe was 10%, 3%, 6% and 5%, respectively.Family of Apps’ other revenues soared 55.4% year over year to $519 million.Reality Labs’ revenues (2.2% of total revenues) increased 1.1% year over year to $1.08 billion.META Expands Operating Margin Despite Higher CostsIn the fourth quarter of 2024, total costs and expenses increased 5.4% year over year to $25.02 billion. As a percentage of revenues, total costs and expenses were 51.7%, significantly down from 59.2% in the year-ago quarter. In the reported quarter, Family of Apps expenses were $19 billion, accounting for 76% of Meta Platforms’ overall expenses. FoA expenses were up 5% year over year, primarily due to higher infrastructure and headcount-related costs. Reality Labs’ expenses were $6 billion, up 6% year over year.As a percentage of revenues, marketing & sales expenses decreased 130 basis points (bps), while general & administrative expenses fell 410 bps on a year-over-year basis.Research & development expenses, as a percentage of revenues, were 25.2%, down 100 bps on a year-over-year basis.Meta Platforms’ employee base was 74,067 at the end of the fourth quarter, up 10% year over year.Operating income of $23.37 billion jumped 42.6% year over year. The operating margin was 48.3%, expanding significantly from 40.8% in the year-ago quarter.Family of Apps’ operating income surged 34.7% year over year to $28.332 billion. Reality Labs reported a loss of $4.97 billion compared with the year-ago quarter’s loss of $4.65 billion.META’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow Remains StrongAs of Dec. 31, 2024, cash & cash equivalents and marketable securities were $77.82 billion compared with $70.90 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024.Long-term debt was $28.83 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, compared with $28.82 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024. Capital expenditures were $14.84 billion in the third quarter compared with $9.2 billion in the previous quarter. Free cash flow was $15.52 billion compared with $10.9 billion reported in the previous quarter.META Offers Positive GuidanceMeta Platforms expects total revenues between $39.5 billion and $41.8 billion for the first quarter of 2025, assuming 8-15% year-over-year growth or 11%-18% at cc. For 2025, META anticipates total expenses between $114 billion and $119 billion. META expects 2025 capital expenditure to be in the range of $60-$65 billion.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderCurrently, Meta Platforms carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). BILL Holdings BILL, Twilio TWLO and AMETEK AME are some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector. While BILL and TWLO sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each, AME has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.BILL is scheduled to report its second-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Feb. 6. Twilio is set to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 13, while AMETEK is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 4.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AMETEK, Inc. (AME): Free Stock Analysis Report Twilio Inc. (TWLO): Free Stock Analysis Report BILL Holdings, Inc. (BILL): Free Stock Analysis Report Meta Platforms, Inc. 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