Meta more than doubles Q1 profit but revenue guidance pulls shares down after-hours

FILE – A Meta Portal Go is displayed during a preview of the Meta Store in Burlingame, Calif., on May 4, 2022. Meta reports earnings on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta said Wednesday its first-quarter profit more than doubled, boosted by higher advertising revenue and a 6% increase on the average price of ads on its platforms. But its shares dropped sharply in after-hours trading following lukewarm revenue guidance.

Meta Platforms Inc. earned $12.37 billion, or $4.71 per share, in the January-March period. That’s up from $5.71 billion, or $2.20 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 27% to $36.46 billion from $28.65 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $4.32 per share on revenue of $36.14 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

For the current quarter, the Menlo Park, California-based company said it expects revenue between $36.5 billion and $39 billion. Analysts are expecting revenue of $38.25 billion for the second quarter, which is higher than the midpoint of Meta’s guidance range.

Meta’s shares fell $53.40, or 10.8%, to $440.10 in after-hours trading.