Meta, the social media giant, reported impressive financial results for the three months ended June 30, with total revenue reaching $32 billion, marking an 11 percent year-over-year increase. Net income also saw significant growth, reaching $7.8 billion, up 16 percent compared to the previous year’s $6.7 billion.
The company’s monthly active users on Facebook soared to 3.03 billion, a 3 percent increase from the previous year, and total monthly active users across all Meta apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, rose to 3.88 billion, up 6 percent from the prior year. The average revenue per person on these apps bounced back, reaching $8.32, after falling to $7.59 in the previous quarter.
Earlier in the year, Meta had announced layoffs, letting go of 10,000 employees in addition to the 11,000 job cuts in November. The company incurred a $523 million hit in Q1, and total costs were projected to reach $1 billion by the year-end. Although Meta stated that the layoffs had been “substantially completed,” they are still assessing “facilities consolidation and data center restructuring initiatives,” resulting in restructuring charges of $705 million for the three months ending June 30.
As of June 30, the company’s total headcount was 71,469, showing a 14 percent decrease year-over-year, though about half of the employees impacted by the 2023 layoffs are included in the current headcount.
Despite the efficiency-focused approach, Meta continues to introduce new offerings, including Threads, a Twitter competitor linked to users’ Instagram accounts, and Reels, a TikTok competitor hosted on Instagram, which have seen considerable success.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s founder and CEO, expressed optimism about the future, citing strong engagement across their apps and an exciting roadmap, including Llama 2, Threads, Reels, new AI products, and the upcoming launch of Quest 3 in the fall.