Meta Shares Surge As Facebook’s Parent Company Announces First Ever Dividend

Meta, the parent company of social media giant Facebook, is thriving financially, according to its 2023 fourth quarter earning results. The company will pay shareholders dividends of $0.50 per share, and announced a $50 billion share buyback program that is also expected to benefit investors. Zuckerberg, who owns approximately 350 million Meta shares, is expected to receive an additional $175 million in dividends this quarter thanks to the new policy. If Meta continues to pay quarterly dividends at the same rate, Zuckerberg could gain an additional $700 million per year.

The announcement marks a significant reversal in Meta’s fortune since the company’s stock price dropped by over 70% throughout the course of 2022. In early January, the company's stock finally reached and surpassed its previous all time peak of $379.38 per share, not seen since August 2021. 

Total revenue at Meta rose by 25% in the fourth quarter when compared to the same time period last year, growing from $32.2 billion to $40.1 billion. Share price jumped after the announcement, rising to highs of $461.47 in after hours trading, a jump of over 16% from the share price of $394.78 that was last seen on Thursday afternoon before the market closed. 

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"We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow," said Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a press release. "We've made a lot of progress on our vision for advancing AI and the metaverse."

Zuckerberg also told investors during a webcast discussing the results that the company plans to continue investing in both generative AI technology and the metaverse. “We invested heavily both in AI and the Metaverse for a long time, and will continue to do so,” said Zuckerberg. “I still expect this next generation of AR, VR and MR computing platforms to deliver a realistic sense of presence that will be the foundation of social experiences.”

Correction, March 1

The original version of this article misstated how many Meta shares Zuckerberg owns. He holds 350 million shares, not $350 million worth of shares.