Meta Shifts Focus to Investor Rewards Amid Profits

Meta, worth $599bn and with over 3 billion active users, saw its shares surge by 20% after Q4 profits tripled to $11bn, driving the company to announce its first-ever dividend of 50 cents per share in March. This change, coupled with a $50bn increase in its share buyback programme, indicates a shift towards rewarding investors. The positive results were fueled by a rebound in advertising, predominantly on Instagram, and extensive cost cuts, including layoffs of about 20% of its staff. Despite strong sales of Quest headsets and Ray-Ban smart glasses, Meta's metaverse division reported a loss of $4.7bn in Q4 and $16bn over the year.