Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) were flying higher on Thursday. The stock gained 2% as of 12:15 p.m. ET but gained as much as 5.1% earlier in the day. The social media behemoth reported its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday after the market closed.
The numbers
Meta delivered fantastic results for Q4 2024. The company increased earnings per share for the quarter by 50% year over year, reaching $8.02. The figure well exceeded Wall Street’s expectations of $6.76 per share. Sales for the company hit $48.4 billion, beating the expected $47 billion.
However, it wasn’t all roses. Meta’s VR play Reality Labs is still losing cash, operating at a loss of $5 billion. Guidance for Q1 2025 also disappointed; the midpoint of the company’s projected revenue comes in about $1 billion short of expectations.
Meta settles a key lawsuit
The stock also received a bump from the news that Meta has settled a lawsuit from President Trump. The Facebook parent agreed to pay just $25 million, a drop in the bucket for a company that nets more than 600 times that every quarter.
What’s next for Meta
Despite the recent DeepSeek news, the company didn’t alter course in its quest to build AI infrastructure at an incredible rate. Meta is expecting to spend more than $60 billion in 2025, up roughly 60% from 2024. Time will tell whether this spend will look bloated in retrospect, but in my opinion, any efficiency gains from DeepSeek’s technology will only lead to Meta’s AI products delivering more value and the bet will pay off.
