After experiencing the largest market value loss in the history of the U.S. stock market, Meta finally regained its "lost ground" and hit a record high in Friday's trading session. This impressive performance not only increased Meta's market capitalization by about $200 billion, but also caused the wealth of its founder Mark Zuckerberg to surge, further cementing his position on the global billionaire list.
CNMO learned that on Friday, Meta's share price hit an all-time high intraday, rising more than 20% at 474$99. This increase not only surpassed the best one-day performance previously recorded by Apple and Amazon, but also significantly increased Meta's market capitalization.
As the company's stock price skyrocketed, so did Zuckerberg's personal wealth. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zuckerberg's wealth has surged by $27.1 billion and is now worth a whopping $169.5 billion. That figure puts Zuckerberg ahead of Bill Gates on the billionaires list and rises to fourth place, behind only other tech giants.
Meta's stock price surge this time is not groundless, but has received a positive response from the market after its impressive quarterly earnings report. After yesterday, Meta announced that it would increase its buybacks by $50 billion and announced a quarterly dividend for the first time. The move came as a shock to Wall Street, while also demonstrating Meta's strong cash flow and profitability to investors.
Brian Nowak, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a note on Friday: "Meta has demonstrated solid execution, faster growth and improved capital structure efficiency, all of which will improve Meta's future prospects." He added that Meta's AI tools for users and advertisers are very powerful and are expected to roll out more features and scale up in 2024.
It is worth mentioning that in 2023, Meta will continue to vigorously develop artificial intelligence and back-end technology while significantly cutting costs. It is reported that Meta has reduced its headcount by 22% this year, but the company is still sticking to its investment in artificial intelligence and back-end technology to support the development of its social ** products and provide power for ad targeting. This strategic adjustment not only helped Meta reduce operating costs, but also laid a solid foundation for its future growth.