Meta Stock Soars Following Q1 Earnings

APR 28 2022·Updated DEC 21 2022

Story

Image credit: Jim Wilson/The New York Times

The Facts

Shares in Meta, the parent company of Facebook and other social networking apps, are on the rise after the company posted its results for the 1st quarter of 2022 on Wednesday.
wapo
Meta announced a modest increase in user numbers coupled with an uptick in revenue, although its profits declined for the second straight quarter.
Independent
Meta also announced plans to cut costs and to slow the pace of its massive investments in the "metaverse," a virtual/augmented reality ecosystem.
NPR
Earlier this week, Meta announced that they're also set to begin testing tools for selling digital assets in the metaverse, with fees for creators of up to 47.5% of each transaction.
SaltWire
The social media giant is facing a number of headwinds at the moment, including challenges related to advertisement-blocking on Apple's iPhones and fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has led to the loss of users and ad revenue.
nytimes

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Zuckerberg, the visionary founder of Facebook who radically changed the nature of the internet, has set his sights on the metaverse. Investors are clearly confident that Meta's Reality Labs will be a leader in the new space. This is laying the groundwork for very exciting 2030s.

Fortune

Narrative B

Meta's positive results are little more than a temporary sugar high amidst a broader tech correction. The digital advertising market is saturated and consumers and regulators alike are waking up to the dangers of this model both for individuals and society.

wapo

Narrative C

It's not entirely clear what's happening. After two decades of immense profit and negligible oversight, it's high time for transparency: social media companies must start handing over their data to researchers and regulators so that we can get a better handle on the broader effects on society.