Meta beats on top and bottom lines as digital ad recovery pushes revenue up 23%

Meta reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter as revenue increased 23%, the fastest rate of growth since 2021. The stock rose about 4% in extended trading Wednesday.

Here are the key numbers:

• Earnings per share: $4.39 vs. $3.63 expected by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv
• Revenue: $34.15 billion vs. $33.56 billion expected by LSEG

Investors are also looking at user numbers:

• Daily active users (DAUs): 2.09 billion vs. 2.07 billion expected, according to StreetAccount
• Monthly active users (MAUs): 3.05 billion vs. 3.05 billion expected, according to StreetAccount
• Average revenue per user (ARPU): $11.23 vs. $11.05 expected, according to StreetAccount

Meta is seeing faster growth in its core digital ads business as clients rebound from a tough 2022, when revenue dropped for three straight quarters.

Its business is outperforming competitors. Google parent Alphabet said in its earnings report Tuesday that ad revenue increased about 9.5%, while smaller rival Snap reported revenue growth of 5%.

A big part of Meta’s reacceleration appears to be because it is furthest along in terms of improving the effectiveness of its online ads following Apple’s iOS privacy changes in 2021, which made it hard for app developers to target users. Meta has pointed to its hefty investments in artificial intelligence as a key technology that has helped it land retailers looking to serve customers targeted promotions.

For the fourth quarter, Meta said it expects revenue of $36.5 billion to $40 billion. Analysts were expecting sales for the quarter of $38.85 billion, according to LSEG. At the midpoint of the range, growth in the quarter will be about 19% higher from a year earlier.

Meta said expenses for 2023 will be in the range between $87 billion and $89 billion, which is down from its previous forecast of $88 billion to $91 billion. Expenses for 2024 will fall in the range between $94 billion and $99 billion.

Net income rose 164% to $11.58 billion, or $4.39 a share, from $4.4…