Meta, which is deeply cutting staff numbers as digital advertising headwinds take hold, reported a 4% drop in revenue to $US32.165 billion for the December quarter.
The number was within market expectations but Meta is forecasting a weaker March quarter as it declares a Year of Efficiency, bringing costs under control.
Revenue for the full year to December was down 1% to $US116.61 billion.
Headcount at the end of December was 86,482, an increase of 20%. This will drop sharply in the March quarter as 11,000 impacted by layoffs disappear from the company’s books.
Ad impressions in the December quarter increased by 23% but the average price per ad fell by 22%r. For the full year 2022, ad impressions were up 18% and the average price per ad fell by 16%.
Meta expects first quarter 2023 total revenue to be in the range of $26 billion to $28.5 billion.
Full year 2023 expenses will be in the range of $89 billion to $95 billion, lowered from the previous outlook of $94 billion to $100 billion due to slower anticipated growth in payroll expenses and cost of revenue.
Reality Labs, Meta's point divsiion for developing the metaverse, posted a $4.279 billion loss in the December quarter, bringing the total negative for the year to $13.717 billion.
Founder Mark Zuckerberg: "Our community continues to grow and I'm pleased with the strong engagement across our apps. Facebook just reached the milestone of 2 billion daily actives.
"The progress we're making on our AI discovery engine and Reels are major drivers of this.
“Beyond this, our management theme for 2023 is the Year of Efficiency and we're focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organisation."
The latest numbers:
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