Meta reports strong Q1 2024 results, fueled by growth in family of apps

Meta (Facebook) this week released its first-quarter 2024 financial results on April 24, 2024, reporting healthy growth across its core Family of Apps (FoA) and continued investment in its ambitious Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives and Reality Labs division.

Revenue: Total revenue reached $36.46 billion, a significant increase of 27% year-over-year. This growth was driven by a 20% increase in ad impressions delivered and a 6% rise in average price per ad.

Family of Apps: Daily Active People (DAP) across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp grew by 7% year-over-year to 3.24 billion on average for March 2024.

AI and Reality Labs: Meta highlighted the launch of the new version of Meta AI with Llama 3, signifying progress towards building "the world's leading AI." Reality Labs, however, continues to incur operating losses due to ongoing product development and efforts to expand its ecosystem.

Profitability: Net income surged by 117% year-over-year to $12.37 billion. This significant jump is attributed to a rise in revenue and a 14% increase in effective tax rate.

Expenses: Total costs and expenses grew by 6% year-over-year to $22.64 billion. Meta expects full-year 2024 expenses to be in the range of $96-99 billion, reflecting higher infrastructure and legal costs.

Capital Expenditures: Meta increased its capital expenditure guidance for 2024 to $35-40 billion, up from the prior range of $30-37 billion. This signifies an acceleration in infrastructure investments to support its AI roadmap. The company expects capital expenditures to keep rising in 2025 due to ongoing investment in AI research and product development.

Free Cash Flow: Free cash flow for Q1 2024 was $12.53 billion.

Insights for marketers

The continued growth of Meta's Family of Apps underscores the importance of these platforms for reaching a vast and engaged audience. Marketers should stay updated on ad format developments, targeting options, and audience insights to optimize their campaigns.

The significant investment in AI suggests that Meta is prioritizing the development of new technologies that could potentially transform how users interact with its services. Marketers should be prepared to adapt their strategies as these AI advancements become available.

Meta's focus on building the Metaverse presents both opportunities and challenges. Marketers may need to explore new formats and approaches for engaging consumers in immersive virtual experiences.

Meta's strong Q1 performance and its commitment to AI development position the company for continued growth. Marketers should closely monitor these trends and adapt their strategies to leverage the evolving digital landscape.