Shares in Meta Platforms surge following better than expected Q1 earnings

Shares in Facebook parent company Meta Platforms rallied in pre-market trading after the social media giant reported better than expected quarterly earnings overnight despite posting some disappointing earnings.

Meta Platforms said on Wednesday that quarterly earnings per share had come to $2.72 each, ahead of expectations for a print of $2.56.

Total revenues rose 7% in the quarter to $27.91bn, the first time in the company's history as a public company that it reported single-digit growth and short of expectations on the Street of $28.2bn, but average revenues per user of $9.54 exceeded analysts' predictions of $9.50.

Meta also lowered its total expenses guidance for the full year from $90.0bn-95.0bn to $87.0bn-92.0bn.

The California-based firm also cautioned that it expects to experience a sequential decline in monthly active users in Europe in the next quarter due to the loss of users in Russia following Moscow's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

As of 1020 BST, Meta shares were up 16.83% in pre-market at $204.40 each.