Meta Platforms published the results for the fourth quarter of last year and the entire 2022. In aftermarket trading, the share price of the owner of Facebook increases by over 18%. Earnings per share in the fourth quarter amounted to USD 1.76 vs. USD 2.23 expected. Revenues reached USD 32.17 billion (market expected USD 31.69 billion). The market was euphoric about the expansion of the buyback of own shares by as much as USD 40 billion. 

How does the Meta Platforms price behave after the announcement of financial results?

In aftermarket trading, Meta Platforms is already gaining over 18%. Tomorrow's session opening in the US stock market will be extremely exciting.

Is there a chance for a long-term improvement in the financial results of the owner of Facebook?

According to analysts' expectations, only the second half of 2023 may bring an improvement in the situation of companies that benefit the most from advertising. According to Refinitiv , in the first quarter of 2023 there will be another decline in Meta's financial results. This is the effect of potential cuts in advertising budgets.

It is worth noting that ad spend in 2023 is expected to increase by 3.3%, which is the lowest estimated increase in the last 5 years. What's more, as many as 2/3 of advertisers include the recession in their budgets, thus expecting lower consumption.

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How did Meta Platforms' results compare to expectations?

Out of the last 4 quarters, only in one case the financial results surprised positively. We are talking about the first quarter of 2022. Then the earnings per share turned out to be higher than expected by more than 8% and reached the value of USD 2.72 per share. Q2 and Q3 2022 are much worse results. In particular, the data for the penultimate quarter were not optimistic, as the discrepancy compared to market expectations reached the value of -11.32%. 

Chart of profit expectations per single Meta Platforms share . The downward trend should end in the first quarter of 2023

How was the Facebook owner doing before the results were announced?

Before the publication of quarterly results, the Meta Platform share price did not differ from the most important technological companies. At times, the gains reached 3%, despite the fact that the opening of Wednesday's session was not successful. The opening price amounted to USD 147.87, while during the daily struggle the rate dynamically broke the barrier of USD 150. Thus, the price has come very close to the important horizontal level of USD 155. Bounce from the bottom (4.11.2022) exceeded the level of 70%.