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.
The United States is considering whether to strike Iran as turmoil intensifies for the country’s authoritarian regime.
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Verizon said some of its wireless services were down Wednesday, leaving many customers without access to voice and data services.
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