Meta reported better than forecast results and boosted spending as it steps up its push to lead in artificial intelligence, shrugging off Wall Street fears over a US-China trade war and economic uncertainty.
Revenues in the company’s first quarter rose 16 per cent from a year ago to $42.3bn, beating expectations for $41.4bn. Net income jumped 35 per cent to $16.7bn, well above consensus estimates of $13.5bn. Meta shares were up more than 5 per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
The tech giant forecast its second-quarter revenues would be between $42.5bn and $45.5bn, with the midpoint of that range slightly higher than Wall Street’s forecast of $43.8bn.