Meta Surpasses Earnings Estimates as Zuckerberg Predicts ‘Really Big Year’ in AI

Meta Platforms exceeded Wall Street expectations in its fourth-quarter earnings, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg forecasting a significant year for AI. Despite an initial surge, the company’s stock rose in extended trading on Wednesday.

The social media giant reported quarterly revenue of $48.39 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $47.04 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) stood at $8.02, exceeding the projected $6.77. Sales grew 21% compared to the same period last year. For the first quarter of 2025, Meta anticipates revenue between $39.5 billion and $41.8 billion, with analysts’ midpoint estimates at $41.73 billion.

Overall, the company reported a net profit of $20,838 million.

Despite the upbeat earnings report, Meta shares traded 1% higher at $684 in after-hours trading, retreating from an initial 5% spike.

Meta’s AI chatbot has reached 700 million monthly active users, and Zuckerberg expects it to cross 1 billion this year. “Once a service reaches that kind of scale, it usually develops a durable, long term advantage,” he told analysts. 

“In AI, I expect that this is going to be the year when a highly intelligent and personalised AI assistant reaches more than 1 billion people,” Zuckerberg said during the earnings call. “And I expect Meta AI to be that leading AI assistant.”

The company is maintaining a $60 billion to $65 billion capital expenditure plan for 2025 to strengthen its AI initiatives.

Zuckerberg also expressed optimism about the political climate under the new US administration, suggesting it would favour American tech dominance. “We now have a US administration that is proud of our leading companies, prioritises American technology winning, and that will defend our values and interests abroad,” he said.

However, analysts have raised concerns over Meta’s substantial AI investments as the conversation around Chinese AI model DeepSeek is making waves in the industry.

Meta’s headcount was 74,067 as of December 31, 2024, which is an increase of 10% YoY.