Meta Shares Soar as Zuckerberg Ushers in ‘Year of Efficiency’

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg struck a new tone with investors Wednesday: The social media giant will be leaner, more efficient and more decisive, with a big assist from artificial intelligence.

By:BLOOMBERG
| Updated on: Feb 02 2023, 16:06 IST
iPhone moment? Meta smart glasses, in Star Trek style, could launch as early as 2024
Meta
1/5 According to a conversation by Meta insiders with the Verge, the venture is called Project Nazare and is scheduled to launch in 2024. It will arrive in three iterations, them being in 2024, 2026 and later in 2028. (Facebook/Meta)
Meta
2/5 Although there is no working prototype yet, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg still wants smart glasses to launch within two years. According to a former employee, Zuckerberg wants the launch of AR smart glasses to be Meta’s own Apple “iPhone” moment. (Bloomberg)
Meta
3/5 The smart glasses don’t need to be tethered to a mobile phone, therefore avoiding the terms under which apps such as Facebook are mandated to operate. (Bloomberg)
Meta
4/5 Features such as 70-degree field of view, light weight, eye-tracking movement, front camera and stereo speakers are expected in the first version of smart glasses. Coming to price, it is expected to be subsidized as smart glasses will have a huge development cost. (AP)
Meta
5/5 Meta has already spent billions of dollars in the development of its AR smart glasses but is expecting the first iteration to have low sales. Along with Meta, companies like Apple have also already begun work towards development of smart glasses and it aims to launch its Mixed Reality glasses as early as late this year or in 2023. (REUTERS)
Meta
icon View all Images
Meta Platforms's share prices rise as company CEO Mark Zuckerberg promises a leaner and more efficiently run company. (REUTERS)

Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg struck a new tone with investors Wednesday: The social media giant will be leaner, more efficient and more decisive, with a big assist from artificial intelligence.

The company's shares gained more than 20% in late trading on fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations. Zuckerberg, who has spent the past year promising a faraway future in a digital world called the metaverse, on Wednesday was more focused on immediate problems, such as sending users the most relevant videos at the right time, and finally making significant revenue from messaging products. He called 2023 the “Year of Efficiency.”

You may be interested in

MobilesTablets Laptops
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • Black Titanium
  • 8 GB RAM
  • 256 GB Storage
27% OFF
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G
  • Green
  • 12 GB RAM
  • 256 GB Storage
Google Pixel 8 Pro
  • Obsidian
  • 12 GB RAM
  • 128 GB Storage
Apple iPhone 15 Plus
  • Black
  • 6 GB RAM
  • 128 GB Storage

“We're working on flattening our org structure and removing some layers of middle management to make decisions faster, as well as deploying AI tools to help our engineers be more productive,” Zuckerberg said on an earnings call with investors. “There's going to be some more that we can do to improve our productivity, speed and cost structure.”

Also read
Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here.

Zuckerberg said the company is using AI to improve the way it recommends content — a strategy for making the platform more attractive to users and advertisers alike. Meta is still suffering from a slump in demand for digital ads, which make up the vast majority of its sales, especially from clients in finance and technology. But the company also pointed to some industries, including health and travel, where businesses are spending more.

Fourth-quarter sales fell 4% to $32.2 billion, the third straight period of declines. Even so, the total beat analysts' estimates, and Meta projected revenue of $26 billion to $28.5 billion for the first quarter, in line with an average projection of $27.3 billion. Analysts are predicting that Meta will return to growth following the current period.

Snap Inc., the parent of rival social-media app Snapchat, gave a less upbeat outlook on Tuesday, sending its shares down 10%. Snap said it expected sales to decline in the current period, with CEO Evan Spiegel remarking that the ad slump appears to be bottoming out. “Advertising demand hasn't really improved, but it hasn't gotten significantly worse either,” Spiegel said on a conference call.

Meta, whose shares have gained 27% so far this year, is on the rebound after the worst year for its stock in history. The company faced a decline in advertiser demand due to weakness in the broader economy as well as a change in privacy rules on Apple Inc.'s iPhone, which made it harder for Meta to offer targeted ads. Meta cut 11,000 jobs, or 13% of the workforce, in November in its first-ever major layoff.

Those cuts came during a quarter that was otherwise an improvement for the company. Facebook, Meta's flagship social network, now has more than 2 billion daily users, up more than 70 million from a year ago.

The company also boosted its stock-buyback authorization by $40 billion, adding to the $10.9 billion remaining from previous repurchase programs. In the fourth quarter, Meta recorded restructuring charges of $4.2 billion related to its job cuts.

Zuckerberg has spent tens of billions of dollars on an effort to build the metaverse — a digital world where people can work and play. Those efforts are still in their early stages, which means much of the investment is not leading to immediate returns.

Still, the Menlo Park, California-based company said 2023 expenses will be $89 billion to $95 billion — less than Meta previously forecast. That could help ameliorate investor concerns that the company is overspending on its virtual-reality ambitions.

Capital expenditures in the recent quarter soared to $32 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2021, by contrast, capital spending was $5.54 billion.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 02 Feb, 16:03 IST
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS