Meta forecasts upbeat first-quarter revenue, shares rise

(Reuters) -Meta Platforms Inc on Wednesday forecast stricter control of expenses this year and first-quarter sales that could beat Wall Street estimates, sending shares soaring 19% in after-hours trade.

The worlds biggest social media company cut its cost outlook for 2023 by $5 billion and expanded its share buyback program by $40 billion.

The parent of Instagram and Facebook forecast revenue between $26 billion and $28.5 billion, compared with analysts average estimates of $27.14 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Shares of peers Alphabet Inc and Snap Inc also rose.

The digital ad giant faced a brutal 2022 as companies cut back on marketing spending due to economic worries, while rivals like TikTok captured younger users and Apple Incs privacy updates continued to challenge the business of placing targeted ads.

Metas forecast is an indication that the ad market may be recovering as companies increase their marketing budgets, after a long pause due to macroeconomic uncertainties.

Net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, however, fell to $4.65 billion, or $1.76 per share, compared with $10.29 billion, or $3.67 per share, a year earlier, largely due to a $4.2 billion charge related to cost-cutting moves such as layoffs.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru and Katie Paul in San FranciscoEditing by Anil DSilva, Kenneth Li and Matthew Lewis)