Dear clients,
Meta Platforms Inc has once again become the darling of Wall Street. Shares of the company continued their winning streak on Thursday, climbing almost 14% after Meta’s focus on artificial intelligence and cost cutting cheered investors whose enthusiasm has already helped the tech giant nearly double in value in 2023.
Meta, whose shares traded at a yearly high, should increase its market value by about $80 billion and overtake Nvidia Corp as the top performing company in the S&P 500 index year-on-year if earnings continue.
Meta beat expectations on first-quarter earnings and revenue, which rose for the first time in nearly a year, suggesting that US tech giants are slowly recovering from a downturn that has caused tens of thousands of layoffs.
The results also highlighted the growing importance of AI, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirming that the technology is helping to increase Facebook and Instagram traffic and earn more from ad sales. Zuckerberg also said the company is no longer behind in building its AI infrastructure.
Shares in America’s biggest tech companies, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon and Alphabet Inc, are up about a quarter this year after a bad 2022 for the IT industry.
