Meta, Facebook’s Parent Company, Reports Slowest Revenue Growth Since IPO

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorMeta, the social giant formerly known as Facebook, beat Wall Street estimates for earnings in the first quarter of 2022 — but fell short on the revenue front — as it reported its slowest revenue growth as a public company.For Q1, Meta reported revenue of $27.9 billion, up 7% year over year.

That’s the company’s lowest topline growth since its IPO in 2012. It posted net income of $7.47 billion, or $2.72 per share, down 21% compared with the year-ago period.Click here to sign up for Variety’s free Strictly Business newsletter covering earnings, financial news, and more.Facebook daily active users averaged 1.96 billion for March 2022, up 4% year-over-year, and up slightly from the prior quarter (1.93 billion).

Wall Street analyst consensus estimates were for Meta to post Q1 revenue of $28.2 billion in EPS of $2.56 per share, according to financial data provider Refinitiv.

Meta was expected to report 1.95 billion daily users for the quarter, per StreetAccount.Shares of Meta popped 13% in after-hours trading on the bottom line beat and the disclosure that Facebook eked out a small gain in average DAUs.Meta had previously told investors that in Q1 it was facing “continued headwinds” from increased competition for people’s time — with Zuckerberg calling out TikTok — as well as from Apple’s iOS privacy changes and “regulatory changes.”“We made progress this quarter across a number of key company priorities and we remain confident in the long term opportunities and growth that our product roadmap will unlock,” Mark Zuckerberg, Meta co-founder and CEO, said in announcing the results. “More people use our services today than ever before, and I’m proud of how our products are serving people around the.