Meta stock surges 14%. Investors are loving its first-ever dividend
CNN
Meta’s “year of efficiency” paid off in a big way. And it offered a sweetener for investors, sending its stock surging.
Meta’s “year of efficiency” paid off in a big way. And it offered a sweetener for investors, sending its stock surging. The tech giant on Thursday reported that profit from the three months ended in December grew more than 200% year-over-year to $14 billion, exceeding Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Sales from the quarter grew 25% from the year-ago period to more than $40 billion. The company also announced its first-ever cash dividend of $0.50 per share to be paid out on March 26 to shareholders of record as of February 22, as well as a $50 billion share buyback. Buybacks and dividends help to boost stock prices by rewarding investors with cash just for holding the stock — but they’re widely criticized for artificially inflating the stock price without spending on employees or improvements to the underlying business. “We intend to pay a cash dividend on a quarterly basis going forward,” the company said in a release. The news sent Meta (META) shares popping more than 14% in after-hours trading Thursday. Thursday’s report marked the fourth quarter of Meta’s self-described “year of efficiency,” which Zuckerberg announced in February of last year. The turnaround strategy involved layoffs and other cuts to spending in what ended up being a stunningly successful effort to reverse the prior year’s revenue declines and share price weakness.
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