Meta Platforms’ Stock Hits All-Time High As Earnings Surpass Targets

The stock of Meta Platforms (META) is trading at an all-time high after the social media company reported fourth-quarter 2024 financial results that beat Wall Street targets.The Silicon Valley-based technology giant announced earnings per share (EPS) of $8.02 U.S., which topped the consensus forecast of $6.75 U.S. Revenue in the final quarter of last year totaled $48.39 billion U.S., which was ahead of the $47.04 billion U.S. that was anticipated by analysts. Sales were up 21% from a year earlier.Management said that daily active users on its social media platforms that include Facebook and Instagram came in at 3.35 billion in Q4 2024, up from 3.29 billion the previous quarter. Analysts were expecting 3.32 billion social media users in the period.Meta Platforms also said that its first quarter costs and expenses totaled $25.02 billion U.S., a roughly 5% increase from the previous year. Management at Meta has said that they intend to invest between $60 billion U.S. and $65 billion U.S. in capital expenditures in 2025 to drive the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. The company expects its total expenses for this year to come in between $114 billion U.S. and $119 billion U.S.In terms of guidance, Meta said its first-quarter revenue should be in a range of $39.5 billion U.S. to $41.8 billion U.S. The midpoint of that figure is below Wall Street’s consensus expectation of $41.73 billion U.S. Meta did not provide any revenue outlook for full-year 2025. The stock of Meta Platforms is up 2.5% on news of the company’s latest financial results, taking the share price to an all-time high of $693.61 U.S.