The stock of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is making big gains today following its recent quarterly report. The company's share price was up 6.1% as of 12:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence .
Meta Platforms published its second-quarter results after the market closed on Wednesday and reported sales, earnings, and engagement figures that beat Wall Street's targets. The social media company formerly known as Facebook also issued some very encouraging guidance, and its stock has received a wave of price-target increases from analysts.
Meta delivers a blowout second quarter
Meta posted revenue of $39.07 billion and earnings per share of $5.16 in the second quarter. The company's results came in $760 million higher than the average analyst estimate and beat Wall Street's profit target by $0.40 per share.
Sales were up roughly 22% year over year in the quarter, and per-share profits were up 73%. Even better, the quarter's beats were powered by strengthening engagement and monetization trends that paint a very bullish picture for its ecosystem of services.
Meta reported 3.27 billion average daily active users in the quarter across its platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The performance represented a roughly 7% year-over-year increase. Total ad impressions and average price per ad each increased 10% compared to the prior-year period.
Wall Street is loving Meta's guidance
For the third quarter, Meta is guiding for sales between $38.5 billion and $41 billion. Before the update, the average Wall Street target had called for the business to record sales of $39.1 billion in the period. The company's guidance also assumes a 2% currency headwind due to unfavorable exchange rates.
It also announced that it now expects its capital expenditures (capex) for the year to be between $37 billion and $40 billion, up from its previous target for capex between $35 billion and $40 billion. Along with comments made during Meta's conference call, the upward narrowing of the guidance range makes it clear that the company isn't taking its foot of the gas when it comes to investing in artificial intelligence.
Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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