Meta Platforms' Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates, Rise Y/Y

Meta Platforms META reported first-quarter 2025 earnings of $6.43 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 23.18%. The figure surged 36.5% year over year.Revenues of $42.31 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.61% and increased 16.1% year over year. At constant currency (cc), revenues soared 19% year over year.META’s Top-Line Growth Rides on Strong User BaseRevenues from Family of Apps (99% of total revenues), which includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and other services, increased 16.3% year over year to $41.9 billion.Family Daily Active People or DAP, defined as a registered and logged-in user who visited at least one of the Family products (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and/or WhatsApp) on a given day, was 3.43 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Meta Platforms, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Meta Platforms, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Meta Platforms, Inc. Quote Geographically, revenues from the United States & Canada, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Rest of the World (RoW) surged 17.6%, 12.8%, 14.1% and 19.8% on a year-over-year basis, respectively.META’s Advertising Revenues Jump Y/YAdvertising revenues (98.8% of Family of Apps revenues) increased 16.2% year over year to $41.39 billion and accounted for 97.8% of first-quarter revenues. At cc, revenues increased 20% year over year.Advertising revenues from the United States & Canada, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the RoW surged 18.2%, 12.1%, 14.4% and 19.1% on a year-over-year basis, respectively.Ad impressions delivered across Family of Apps increased 5% year over year, and the average price per ad jumped 10% in the reported quarter. Impression growth from Asia-Pacific, the RoW, the United States & Canada and Europe was 9%, 1%, 4% and 5%, respectively.Family of Apps’ other revenues soared 34.2% year over year to $510 million.Reality Labs’ revenues (1% of total revenues) decreased 6.4% year over year to $412 million.META Expands Operating Margin Despite Higher CostsIn the first quarter of 2025, total costs and expenses increased 9.4% year over year to $24.76 billion. As a percentage of revenues, total costs and expenses were 58.5%, down 360 basis points (bps) year over year. In the reported quarter, Family of Apps expenses were $20.1 billion, accounting for 81% of Meta Platforms’ overall expenses. FoA expenses were up 10% year over year, primarily due to higher infrastructure and headcount-related costs. Reality Labs’ expenses were $4.6 billion, up 8% year over year.As a percentage of revenues, marketing & sales expenses decreased 50 basis points (bps), while general & administrative expenses fell 410 bps on a year-over-year basis.Research & development expenses, as a percentage of revenues, were 28.7%, up 130 bps on a year-over-year basis.Meta Platforms’ employee base was 76,834 at the end of the first quarter, up 11% year over year.Operating income of $17.56 billion jumped 27% year over year. The operating margin was 41.5%, expanding 360 bps year over year.Family of Apps’ operating income surged 23.2% year over year to $21.77 billion. Reality Labs reported a loss of $4.2 billion compared with the year-ago quarter’s loss of $3.85 billion.META’s Balance Sheet Remains StrongAs of March 31, 2025, cash & cash equivalents and marketable securities were $70.23 billion compared with $77.82 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024.Long-term debt was $28.83 billion as of March 31, 2025, unchanged from the figure reported as of Dec. 31, 2024. Capital expenditures were $13.69 billion in the first quarter, while free cash flow was $10.33 billion.META Offers Positive GuidanceMeta Platforms expects total revenues between $42.5 billion and $45.5 billion for the second quarter of 2025. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $43.33 billion, indicating 10.9% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $5.49 per share, suggesting 6.4% growth from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)For 2025, META anticipates total expenses between $113 billion and $118 billion. META expects 2025 capital expenditure to be in the range of $64-$72 billion.Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderCurrently, Meta Platforms carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Affirm AFRM, Criteo CRTO and InterDigital IDCC are some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector. Each of the three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Affirm is scheduled to report its first-quarter 2025 results on May 8. Criteo is set to report first-quarter 2025 results on May 2, while InterDigital is scheduled to report its first-quarter 2025 results on May 1.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC): Free Stock Analysis Report Criteo S.A. (CRTO): Free Stock Analysis Report Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM): Free Stock Analysis Report Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks