Meta Platforms (META) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q4 2024 revenue reached $48.4B, up 21% year-over-year, with net income of $20.84B and diluted EPS of $8.02, reflecting strong ad growth and user engagement.

• Family daily active people reached 3.35B in December 2024, up 5% year-over-year, with continued growth in core products and new initiatives, especially in AI and hardware.

• Major focus on scaling Meta AI and Llama models, with Llama 4 aiming to lead open-source AI and Meta AI targeting over 1 billion users.

• Threads surpassed 320 million monthly actives, WhatsApp exceeded 100 million U.S. users, and Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses saw strong adoption.

• Significant investments in AI infrastructure, including nearly a gigawatt of new capacity and a multi-gigawatt data center.

Financial highlights

• FY2024 revenue was $164.50B, up 22% year-over-year; Q4 operating income was $23.4B with a 48% margin.

• Free cash flow was $13.2B in Q4 and $52.1B for FY2024; cash and marketable securities totaled $77.8B at year-end.

• Capital expenditures were $14.84B in Q4 and $39.23B for FY2024.

• Paid $5.07B in dividends and repurchased $29.75B in shares in FY2024.

• Ended the year with $28.83B in long-term debt.

Outlook and guidance

• Q1 2025 revenue expected between $39.5B and $41.8B, reflecting 8%-15% year-over-year growth.

• FY2025 expenses projected at $114-$119B, with infrastructure and employee compensation as main drivers.

• FY2025 CapEx expected at $60-$65B, mainly for AI and core business investments.

• Tax rate for 2025 anticipated at 12%-15%.

• Change in server and network asset useful lives will reduce 2025 depreciation expense by ~$2.9B.