META: Meta Stock Pops 15% on Tripled Profit, First Dividend Payout, $50B Share Buyback

With $140 billion added to Meta’s market cap overnight, it one-upped Apple, whose shares sank 3% after earnings.

• Meta stock META took off in after-hours trading on Thursday with shares adding more than 15% ahead of Friday’s opening bell. The company dazzled investors with a surprisingly strong earnings number and topped it off with its first-ever dividend payout coupled with a bold buyback announcement.
• The parent of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp picked up $14 billion in net income for the December quarter, a 201% jump from a year ago. Revenue came in at a 25% increase to $40.1 billion, topping analysts’ calls for $39.1 billion. What’s more, Meta declared its first-ever quarterly dividend reward of 50 cents a share, payable on March 26. What’s even more, a $50 billion share buyback was announced, too.
• The big leap in share price added over $140 billion to Meta’s market value, while rival tech giant Apple wasn’t so fortunate. The iPhone maker, reporting at the same time as Meta, managed to snap four quarters of sales declines but Apple stock AAPL fell 3% due to declining revenue in its China business.