On Wednesday 30th August 2024, U.S. social media powerhouse Meta Platforms, Inc. announced improved financial results for the third quarter ending September 30th, 2024. The company’s quarterly revenue increased by 18.9% to USD 40.6 billion in Q3’ 2024, from USD 34.1 billion recorded in Q3’ 2023.
Meta’s quarterly net income rose by 35.4% to USD 15.7 billion in Q3’2024, from USD 11.6 billion in Q3’ 2023. Diluted earnings per share also saw a significant increase by 37.4%, to USD 6.0 in Q3’ 2024, from USD 4.4 per share in Q3’ 2023. These results reflect Meta’s successful strategies and growth initiatives across its ecosystem, which includes popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Other Highlights include, the company’s family daily active people (DAP), which represents daily active users across its suite of apps, averaged 3.3 billion in September 2024. Additionally, Meta reported a strong liquidity position with cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaling USD 70.9 billion as of September 30th. The company’s free cash flow reached USD 15.5 billion for the quarter, indicating its financial stability and operational efficiency.
CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg attributed the quarter’s success to advancements in AI, which have driven improvements across Meta’s applications and overall business. “We had a good quarter driven by AI progress across our apps and business,” Zuckerberg said. “We also have strong momentum with Meta AI, Llama adoption, and AI-powered glasses”, he added.
Looking ahead, Meta has forecasted fourth-quarter revenue between USD 45.0 billion and USD 48.0 billion. This assumes that foreign currency is approximately neutral to year-over-year total revenue growth, based on current exchange rates.
