Meta reports Q3 revenue up 23% YoY to $34.15B, net income up 164% YoY to $11.58B, and family daily active people up 7% YoY to 3.14B for September 2023
that's what the Ray Ban glasses are for Ryan Deffenbaugh / Investor's Business Daily : Meta Earnings Crushed Targets. Why Is The Stock Falling Anyway? Yuvraj Malik / Reuters : Facebook-parent Meta beats revenue estimates, lowers 2023 expenses view Dan Gallagher / Wall Street Journal : Meta's New Year of Efficiency Won't Look Like the Old One Steve Muchoki / Coinspeaker : Meta Stock Drops Over 7% despite Reporting Better-than-Expected Q3 2023 Results CNBC : Meta widens revenue guidance range because of Middle East unpredictability Mike Wheatley / SiliconANGLE : Meta bests forecast but uncertainty over Middle East war weighs on stock Sylvia Varnham O'Regan / The Information : Mark Zuckerberg Talks Up ‘Creator AIs’ Financial Times : Meta: wave goodbye to the Year of Efficiency Michael L Hicks / Android Central : Meta's Q3 earnings prove AI and Reels will profit more than the Quest 3KNSD-TV : CNBC Daily Open: Shiny Meta Shafaq News : Meta's Q3 profit hits $11.58 billion, marking its fastest growth since 2021 Salvador Rodriguez / Wall Street Journal : Meta Sees Continued Rebound in Advertising, Reports Largest Sales in Years Todd Spangler / Variety : Meta Q3 Revenue Surges 23%, Profit More Than Doubles to $11.6 Billion Alex Barinka / Bloomberg : Meta Shares Slide After Warning on Economy Impacting Ads Derek Saul / Forbes : Meta Earnings: Record Profits, Sales As Ads Stay Robust During Zuckerberg's ‘Year Of Efficiency’ Jonathan Vanian / CNBC : Mark Zuckerberg says Meta has seen a 7% increase in time spent on Facebook and a 6% bump on Instagram “as a result of our recommendation improvements” David Marino-Nachison / Wall Street Journal : Meta Stock Rises After Sales, Net Income Beat Estimates Threads: Kali Hays / @kalihays1 : Toward the end, Zuckerberg spoke more broadly about what generative AI will mean for Meta and its apps. Going so far as to say the co could start creating its own content for users: “I predict the fundamental tech around generative AI is going to transform meaningfully how people interact w the apps we build. … Kali Hays / @kalihays1 : Holy wow 3rd quarter for Meta. Rev up, profits way up, costs down. Q4 guidance is a little mid but still up. X: Gene Munster / @munster_gene : $META stock in after-hours was trading up 2.5% and is now trading down 3%. The reason is CFO's Susan Li's comment that geopolitical is causing some demand softness early in the quarter. @borrowed_ideas : $META 3Q'23 Update Meta had a terrific third quarter which makes the after-hours reaction (down ~3%) tad bit surprising, but perhaps understandable given the wider range of scenarios for advertising going forward. Here are my highlights from tonight's call. @thetranscript_ : $META CEO on a major milestone for Reels: “Reels has now driven more than 40% increase in time spent on Instagram since launch. We also reached a monetization milestone earlier than expected & we estimate that Reels is now net neutral to overall company ad revenue” @thetranscript_ : $META CFO: “We've also seen generally broader based strength from other China advertisers...I think there has been a broader story of improved growth across all advertiser regions in Q3 and even excluding China advertisers revenue growth has accelerated” [image] Eric Seufert / @eric_seufert : 2/ In Q3, Meta's saw its decline in average price per ad reach the lowest level since Q4 2021 (see: increased advertising efficiency with Advantage+), with ad impressions growing by 31% (see: increased engagement with Reels). [image] @borrowed_ideas : Considering ATT and all the things that happened over the last two years, this has been an incredible turnaround for Zuck and Co. Even more impressive is FOA's ~81% (no typo) incremental operating margin in 3Q'23 vs 3Q'21. Sylvia Varnham O'Regan / @sylviavarnham : It was interesting to note in today's Meta earnings the subtle change in how they about Reels. Meta is now going to focus on “overall video” rather than just Reels. I reported last week that advertisers had also noticed Meta was talking about Reels less: https://www.theinformation.com/ ... @thetranscript_ : $META CFO on the impact of the Middle East conflict on ad spend: “...we have observed softer ad spend in the beginning of the fourth quarter correlating with the start of the conflict, which is captured in our Q4 revenue outlook” [image] Eric Seufert / @eric_seufert : Meta saw 24% growth in advertising revenue in Q3 2023. I published this diagram in my analysis of last quarter's earnings, which captures the company's turnaround strategy: - drive increased engagement with Reels - drive increased advertising efficiency with Advantage+ (1/X) [image] Mike Swift / @swiftstories : Something new on the #metaearnings call - @meta CFO Susan Li warns about impact of @FTC move to limit monetization of youth data due to alleged violations of 2020 #privacy settlement. “Of note, the FTC is seeking to substantially modify our existing consent order and impose... Alexei Oreskovic / @lexnfx : Meta on impact of Israel-hamas war: We don't have material direct revenue exposure to Israel and the region, but we have experienced softer ad spend demand in Q4 since the start of the conflict. Alexei Oreskovic / @lexnfx : Meta says it estimates that Reels is now net neutral to overall company ad revenue. And Reels has driven more than 40% increase in time spent on Instagram since launch Alexei Oreskovic / @lexnfx : Meta is currently working though a “sizable hiring backlog,” Zuck says on earnings call. As a result, new hires in 2024 will increase in the short term even though the company plans to reduce headcount growth and make company more lean in long term. @supbagholder : Ad Impressions +31% Avg. Price Per Ad -6% I want you to understand what this means. Supply increased by 31%, and Price went down only 6%. That's pricing power. It's just incredible. Above all my own expectations. Gene Munster / @munster_gene : $META Sept quarter results are in: Most importantly they guided Dec revenue 3% higher than Street est. and guided Dec expenses in line with the Street ($33.6B). That means margins are going up. Gene Munster / @munster_gene : DAU's up 5.4% y/y, compared to estimates of up 3%. This is the 4th consecutive quarter of accelerating growth. The one negative, they are still spending too much money on Reality Labs. Gene Munster / @munster_gene : Operating Margin came in at 40% vs. Street at 34%, up from 20.4% a year ago. It's been 2.5 years since margins have been this high. In 2019, operating margins were 34%. I expect margins to go higher, likely to 42%, in December. Jason Kint / @jason_kint : OK, I'll say it. Meta's Q3 is impressive. Revenue up 23%, headcount down 24% vs same period in 2022. Everything below is the detail behind the risk they're often criticized for burying. I wonder how long they can keep this going. @richlightshed : 🔥 $META pretty insane to see a company re-accelerate revenue growth from 2% to 21% over the past 4 quarters (ex-currency) [image] Kyle Russell / @kylebrussell : Zuck has earned renewed cover for his long-term bets @rjrcapital : Outstanding quarter by $META and confirmed guidance. If the AH pop doesn't hold through tomorrow, it pretty much tells you the regime has shifted. As a side note, who still advertises on Facebook or Instagram? Rihard Jarc / @rihardjarc : $META producing $13.6B in FCF this quarter tells you everything you need to know long-term about this business. @richlightshed : The digital ad market is on 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Meta, Google/YouTube Spotify and even Snap starting to turn Roaring back to life as linear TV fades away ex-sports [image] Alex Heath / @alexeheath : Meta's operating margin last quarter jumped from 20% this time last year to 40%. Is there precedent for this in Big Tech? 164% jump in net income is also eye-popping Matt Rosoff / @mattrosoff : I can't decide what's worse news for Meta's metaverse ambitions - this chart and the fact that Reality Labs missed revenue estimates...or the fact that despite both, investors didn't even care. As if it's already been written off as irrelevant. Stock up 4.5% after hours [image] @richlightshed : Love how Zuckerberg starts the earnings press release so humbly despite CRUSHING results and the guide $META “We had a good quarter for our community and business,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. “I'm proud of the work our teams have done to advance AI and mixed... Evan / @stockmktnewz : 3.96 Billion people use either Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp on a monthly basis That means about 49.2% of the world's population uses a $META product each month [image] Rihard Jarc / @rihardjarc : $META earnings are out! - Revenue $34.15B up 23% YoY (vs $33.56B expected) - EPS $4.39 vs $3.63 expected - DAUs 2.09B up 5% YoY - MAUs 3.05B up 3% YoY - lowered total expenses outlook in the $87-$89B range from the previous $88-$91B Strong Q. Forums: Hacker News : Meta Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results See also Mediagazer
Meta Investor Relations
Context & Ripple Effects
Meta entered 2023 after a weak first quarter, when revenue barely grew and profit fell, then showed a clearer recovery in the second-quarter return to double-digit revenue growth. This quarter extends that arc while family daily activity continues to expand.
The result matters because advertising growth, lower expense guidance, and Reels' reported revenue neutrality suggest Meta had improved monetization without relying on higher prices per ad. Reality Labs' revenue miss remains a counterweight to the core ads business.
First-order effects
Meta's core advertising business gets an immediate earnings and cash-flow boost: ad revenue grew about 24% while net income grew faster than revenue, alongside reduced 2023 expense guidance.
Advertisers gain access to materially more Meta inventory as ad impressions rose about 31%; the roughly 6% decline in average price per ad indicates that inventory growth, rather than price increases, carried much of the quarter's ad expansion.
Second-order effects
The combination of accelerating ads and cost discipline raises the performance bar for other ad-supported platforms, particularly those competing for short-form video engagement and advertiser budgets.
A stronger core business can continue to fund Meta's longer-horizon product bets, but Reality Labs' revenue miss keeps pressure on that unit to demonstrate commercial traction rather than simply absorb the ads business's gains.
Third-order effects
If ad impressions can keep growing faster than pricing declines, platform monetization may increasingly depend on engagement, recommendation quality, and ad-market efficiency rather than straightforward price increases.
The trend: Meta is becoming a clearer example of how large consumer platforms can pair engagement-led ad inventory growth with cost control to restore profitability while preserving capacity for major technology investment.
Toward the end, Zuckerberg spoke more broadly about what generative AI will mean for Meta and its apps. Going so far as to say the co could start creating its own content for users: “I predict the fundamental tech around generative AI is going to transform meaningfully how peopl…
2/ In Q3, Meta's saw its decline in average price per ad reach the lowest level since Q4 2021 (see: increased advertising efficiency with Advantage+), with ad impressions growing by 31% (see: increased engagement with Reels). [image]
Meta saw 24% growth in advertising revenue in Q3 2023. I published this diagram in my analysis of last quarter's earnings, which captures the company's turnaround strategy: - drive increased engagement with Reels - drive increased advertising efficiency with Advantage+ (1/X) [ima…
Something new on the #metaearnings call - @meta CFO Susan Li warns about impact of @FTC move to limit monetization of youth data due to alleged violations of 2020 #privacy settlement. “Of note, the FTC is seeking to substantially modify our existing consent order and impose...
$META 3Q'23 Update Meta had a terrific third quarter which makes the after-hours reaction (down ~3%) tad bit surprising, but perhaps understandable given the wider range of scenarios for advertising going forward. Here are my highlights from tonight's call.
Love how Zuckerberg starts the earnings press release so humbly despite CRUSHING results and the guide $META “We had a good quarter for our community and business,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. “I'm proud of the work our teams have done to advance AI and mixed...
$META Sept quarter results are in: Most importantly they guided Dec revenue 3% higher than Street est. and guided Dec expenses in line with the Street ($33.6B). That means margins are going up.
Outstanding quarter by $META and confirmed guidance. If the AH pop doesn't hold through tomorrow, it pretty much tells you the regime has shifted. As a side note, who still advertises on Facebook or Instagram?
Meta on impact of Israel-hamas war: We don't have material direct revenue exposure to Israel and the region, but we have experienced softer ad spend demand in Q4 since the start of the conflict.
Meta's operating margin last quarter jumped from 20% this time last year to 40%. Is there precedent for this in Big Tech? 164% jump in net income is also eye-popping
$META CEO on a major milestone for Reels: “Reels has now driven more than 40% increase in time spent on Instagram since launch. We also reached a monetization milestone earlier than expected & we estimate that Reels is now net neutral to overall company ad revenue”
$META CFO: “We've also seen generally broader based strength from other China advertisers...I think there has been a broader story of improved growth across all advertiser regions in Q3 and even excluding China advertisers revenue growth has accelerated” [image]
Meta is currently working though a “sizable hiring backlog,” Zuck says on earnings call. As a result, new hires in 2024 will increase in the short term even though the company plans to reduce headcount growth and make company more lean in long term.
$META stock in after-hours was trading up 2.5% and is now trading down 3%. The reason is CFO's Susan Li's comment that geopolitical is causing some demand softness early in the quarter.
Meta says it estimates that Reels is now net neutral to overall company ad revenue. And Reels has driven more than 40% increase in time spent on Instagram since launch
Ad Impressions +31% Avg. Price Per Ad -6% I want you to understand what this means. Supply increased by 31%, and Price went down only 6%. That's pricing power. It's just incredible. Above all my own expectations.
3.96 Billion people use either Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp on a monthly basis That means about 49.2% of the world's population uses a $META product each month [image]
Considering ATT and all the things that happened over the last two years, this has been an incredible turnaround for Zuck and Co. Even more impressive is FOA's ~81% (no typo) incremental operating margin in 3Q'23 vs 3Q'21.
$META earnings are out! - Revenue $34.15B up 23% YoY (vs $33.56B expected) - EPS $4.39 vs $3.63 expected - DAUs 2.09B up 5% YoY - MAUs 3.05B up 3% YoY - lowered total expenses outlook in the $87-$89B range from the previous $88-$91B Strong Q.
OK, I'll say it. Meta's Q3 is impressive. Revenue up 23%, headcount down 24% vs same period in 2022. Everything below is the detail behind the risk they're often criticized for burying. I wonder how long they can keep this going.
It was interesting to note in today's Meta earnings the subtle change in how they about Reels. Meta is now going to focus on “overall video” rather than just Reels. I reported last week that advertisers had also noticed Meta was talking about Reels less: https://www.theinformatio…
I can't decide what's worse news for Meta's metaverse ambitions - this chart and the fact that Reality Labs missed revenue estimates...or the fact that despite both, investors didn't even care. As if it's already been written off as irrelevant. Stock up 4.5% after hours [image]
DAU's up 5.4% y/y, compared to estimates of up 3%. This is the 4th consecutive quarter of accelerating growth. The one negative, they are still spending too much money on Reality Labs.
$META CFO on the impact of the Middle East conflict on ad spend: “...we have observed softer ad spend in the beginning of the fourth quarter correlating with the start of the conflict, which is captured in our Q4 revenue outlook” [image]
The digital ad market is on 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Meta, Google/YouTube Spotify and even Snap starting to turn Roaring back to life as linear TV fades away ex-sports [image]
Operating Margin came in at 40% vs. Street at 34%, up from 20.4% a year ago. It's been 2.5 years since margins have been this high. In 2019, operating margins were 34%. I expect margins to go higher, likely to 42%, in December.
Today at Meta's earnings, @zuck mentioned that there are just under 100M monthly actives for Threads. A heartfelt thank you for being a part of this growing community. We're working on more updates to improve your experience, looking forward to building together.
We appreciate the vote of confidence, but we have lots more to do and need to be careful not to be too confident. I'm hoping we can land support for Europe, early Fediverse progress, better Instagram integrations, and trends in the next few months. It'll be telling to see if th…
No more guessing — Meta announces that Threads has nearly 100M active users. In May of last year, Twitter had 229M. Twitter has been around for 17 years. Threads launched less than 4 months ago.
Twitter occupied an important space in the media landscape for a long time. The reason I'm such a big cheerleader for Threads isn't because Elon is a bad dude (he is), it's because there's a crucial place for conversation across verticals on social media that's cultivated by tho…
Kudos to the Threads team which has stayed heads down and focused on building up the product even as the media kept claiming it was dead. I'm loving the steady stream of improvement and the hands on engagement with people who use the product.
Imagine being at Meta and having people clamoring for features and being excited about a product, vs. the discourse about everything else at Meta: complaints about privacy, complaints about antitrust, complaints about lame metaverse vision, complaints about twisting teenagers' mi…
Threads winning will be Mastodon winning, though. When ActivityPub federation on Threads happens, this'll be 100+ million new users for Mastodon (and other fediverse) users to interact with, follow, and be followed by.
Sometimes I wonder what the reax would be if this were a new social app that was not affiliated w meta. My bet is people would be losing their minds lol. Bazillion dollar valuation. ‘Savior of social media’ profiles would be written. Threads would be times person of the year.
Threads has nearly 100 million monthly active users and @zuck thinks it can hit 1 billion users in a few years. Maybe all the “Threads is dead” takes were a bit premature.
If Zuck wants to hit his goal, he really needs to build more signup momentum and hit 200M by this time next year. If X collapses in 2024, maybe that'll be possible.
Threads has 100M monthly active users. Zuck still shooting for 1B — that's HUGE! This is why I believe he's going to keep his word with *no-ads* for the foreseeable future. Imo he'll likely revisit the idea after Q2, next year. Let's enjoy the tranquility for now 🫠
Zuckerberg on earnings call: Threads now has “just under” 100m monthly active users. Still believes in 1bn user target for a more “positive” space, will keep at it for a “few more years” to get there.
Threads now has nearly 100 million monthly average users, Zuckerberg says, and is on a path toward achieving 1 billion users in a few years. “People love it so far,” Zuck says. #metaearnings
“I've thought for a long time there should be a billion-person public conversations app that is a bit more positive,” Zuckerberg said today. “I think that if we keep at this for a few more years, then I think we have a good chance of achieving our vision” https://www.theverge.com…
$META CEO on Threads: “We're 3 months in now & I'm very happy with the trajectory. There are just under 100M MAUs at this point & we're now getting to the point where we're going to be focusing on growing the community further. From what we can tell, people love it so far”
Threads has “just under” 100 million monthly users, @zuck announces on Meta earnings call just now. Says we're “very happy with the trajectory” and it's on track to hit his goal of 1 billion users “if we keep at this for a few more years”
Damn, @meta killed it this quarter with regards to revenue, MAUs and DAUs. Investors may still get grumbly about Reality Labs reducing revenue, but RL is the long-game, and they have a warchest for it (also @zuck is a huge VR nerd).
CFO Outlook: “Reality Labs, we expect operating losses to increase meaningfully YoY due to our ongoing product development efforts in AR/VR and our investments to further scale our ecosystem.” My Estimates for FRL LTD: • Spend: $65B • Revenue: $7.8B • Net: ($53.3B)
@GlenKacher The business is stronger today than ever before. It's about to put up the best 12 month earnings number ever. He's beaten every competitor or existential threat to the business for almost 20 yrs I think he deserves a science project that he believes in & we should tru…
$META CFO: “Finally for Reality Labs, we expect operating losses to increase meaningfully year over year due to our ongoing product development efforts in AI and our investments to further scale our ecosystem” [image]