Meta smashes Q4 expectations, touts ambitious AI infrastructure plans

Meta reported record-breaking fourth quarter results for 2024, with revenue reaching $48.39 billion and net income of $20.84 billion, significantly exceeding Wall Street expectations.

Financial Performance: Meta’s Q4 results demonstrate substantial growth with revenue up 21% and net income increasing by 49% year-over-year.

• The company achieved earnings of $8.02 per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $6.76
• Daily users across Meta’s apps reached 3.35 billion in December 2024, showing continued user base expansion
• For Q1 2025, Meta projects revenue between $39.5 billion and $41.8 billion, representing 8-15% year-over-year growth

AI Investment Strategy: Mark Zuckerberg announced ambitious plans for AI infrastructure expansion in 2025.

• Capital expenditure is expected to reach $60-65 billion in 2025, up significantly from $39.23 billion in 2024
• Plans include building a massive 2-gigawatt+ data center with 1.3 million GPUs by year-end
• This investment faces competitive pressure from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which claims to achieve similar results at less than 10% of Meta’s costs

Platform Updates: Meta continues to evolve its social media offerings and monetization strategies.

• The company announced plans to test advertising on Threads in the United States and Japan
• Meta’s fact-checking program is being discontinued, with Zuckerberg emphasizing a return to “free expression”
• The company maintains strong user engagement across its family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp

Political Developments: Meta’s relationship with the political establishment shows significant shifts.

• The company appointed UFC CEO Dana White, a Trump ally, to its board
• Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
• Platform changes during the White House transition resulted in automatic following adjustments for users of official accounts like @POTUS

Strategic Implications: Meta’s massive AI investments and political repositioning suggest a complex balancing act between technological advancement and regulatory considerations, while the company’s strong financial performance provides the resources to pursue these ambitious initiatives.