Meta announced its first-ever dividend plan, Amazon reported strong earnings, while Apple reported a sales slowdown in its key Chinese market as three major tech stocks reported quarterly results on Thursday.
Big tech companies, three of the so-called Magnificent Seven, have been driving the market’s resurgence, but optimism has cooled in recent days as layoffs hit the sector. .
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings, saw its stock soar more than 14% in after-hours trading, and added a whopping $130 billion to its market capitalization.
The company, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced the dividend will be 50 cents per common share, with payments to be spread out on March 26. The company also announced a $50 billion share buyback.
“We will continue to pay cash dividends on a quarterly basis, subject to market conditions and board approval,” the company said in a statement.
The announcement comes just a day after Zuckerberg was slammed by senators on Capitol Hill over the company’s failure to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse. became.
Meta reported fourth-quarter earnings of $5.33 per share. Sales increased 25% to $40.1 billion. Both numbers exceeded expectations, according to LSEG data.
“It was a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow,” Zuckerberg said in a statement. “We have made significant progress in aligning with our vision to advance AI and the Metaverse.”
The social media company said it expects revenue to be up to $37 billion in the first quarter of 2024, which also exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Apple’s results were mixed. The company’s shares fell less than 2% in post-market trading as investors digested signs of a growing economic downturn in China.
Apple’s first-quarter sales in the region fell 13% to $20.8 billion, lower than analysts’ expectations of $23.5 billion and the lowest since 2020. Bloomberg data.
On the positive side, sales in the all-important holiday quarter rose 2% to $119.58 billion, ending the company’s fourth consecutive quarter of sales decline. Earnings increased 16% to $2.18 per share.
iPhone sales also were stronger than expected, despite repeated warnings from analysts about potential weakness.
“Today, Apple announced record sales growth in the December quarter, driven by iPhone sales, and record service revenue,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. I will report this.”
Cook also pointed to Friday’s release of Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset as a sign that Apple is “as committed as ever to pursuing breakthrough innovation.” emphasized.
Elsewhere, Amazon shares soared more than 9% as the e-commerce giant beat Wall Street expectations.
The company’s quarterly sales rose 14% to $170 billion. Amazon’s profit rose to $10.6 billion, or $1 a share, as CEO Andy Jassy’s sweeping cost-cutting measures, including multiple rounds of layoffs, boosted the company’s profits to $10.6 billion, or $1 a share.
