The publisher of Facebook and Instagram services, Meta, posted good results last year, thanks to savings made as part of a massive restructuring. The company has decided to pay a dividend to shareholders for the first time.
“In the fourth quarter of last year, our revenue increased by 25% compared to the same period in 2022 to reach $40 billion,” Meta said. This figure exceeds the expectations of Wall Street which expected $39.18 billion.
During the same period, operating profit increased 200% year-over-year to $14 billion. On an annual basis, the company’s revenue increased 69% from the previous year to $39 billion.
The year of efficiency
Meta’s strong results are attributed to cost-cutting measures it took last year, including massive layoffs.
After Meta’s stock price fell in 2022, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 2023 was “the year of efficiency.” In fact, the company laid off more than 20,000 people to reduce labor costs.
After a strong fourth quarter last year, Meta plans to pay a cash dividend of $0.50 per share to shareholders. The company also plans to repurchase $50 billion of its own shares. For comparison, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has never paid a dividend.
On the road to AI
Meta is now focusing on developing its activities in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The company said it plans to deploy a new self-developed AI chip in its data centers this year.
Meta actually unveiled its own in-house chip, MTIA, in May last year. This chip supports inference work, which is necessary for AI models to use generative AI algorithms.
At the same time, Meta’s new Metaverse business unit, Reality Lab, has continued to lose money. Reality Labs has lost $42 billion since the end of 2020.