Shares in Facebook’s parent company Meta soared after the company announced its first-ever cash dividend following its biggest quarterly growth in more than two years.
The company’s market value rose more than $200 billion on Friday, putting it on pace for the fastest single-day increase in market value for a U.S. company, according to tracked by the Dow Jones Market Data Group. This move netted CEO Mark Zuckerberg $29 billion in profits in just a few hours.
The company cut 10,000 jobs in 2023 and restructured its business.
“Last year, not only did we meet our efficiency goals, we returned to strong revenue growth and saw strong engagement across our apps, including Threads, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, Quest mixed reality, and many more. We’ve shipped exciting new products and, of course, established a world-class AI commitment that will be the foundation for many of our future products,” Zuckerberg said on the company’s earnings call.
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A cash dividend of $0.50 per share will be paid to holders of Class A and B common stock on March 26, 2024 to investors of record as of February 22, 2024 .
“This quarter is an inflection point. I really like the fact that they’re paying dividends and their revenue growth is accelerating. They’re bringing together a ton of all these great product cycles. ” Evercore ISI Senior Managing Director Mark Mahaney told FOX Business.
The stock has risen more than 35% since the beginning of the year as of Friday, outpacing the Nasdaq Composite’s 3.8% rise. Mahoney calls Meta a top candidate and expects the stock to reach $550 per share. This is an increase of about 15% from current levels.
META CEO Zuckerberg apologizes to families affected by social media
After a tense week for Mr. Zuckerberg and other social media CEOs who testified before Congress about the lack of safety for children on various platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, the payoff and predictions are on hold. Higher quarterly results were announced.
Mr. Zuckerberg finally apologized to these victims earlier this week.
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through. No one should have to go through what your families have suffered,” he said at the Capitol.
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