Meta earnings report for Q2 2022 shows decline in revenue

In this article, we are going to be going over the Meta earnings report for Q2 2022, which shows a decline in revenue for the first time in a decade.

Facebook’s decade-long run of uninterrupted revenue growth has come to an end. The Meta earnings report revealed its first-ever yearly revenue reduction in the second quarter, a 1% dip to $28.8 billion, and anticipated that growth in the third quarter might be significantly lower. The parent firm, Meta, saw its entire earnings fall 36% to $6.7 billion. The Reality Labs division, which is in charge of realizing Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse fantasies, lost $2.8 billion in the quarter.

Meta earnings report for Q2 2022 reveals a revenue decline

While Wall Street predicted the first-ever dip in sales growth coming into Wednesday’s earnings announcement, it underscores how challenging Meta’s company has suddenly become on all fronts. Apple’s “Ask app not to track” prompt on iPhones has reduced the effectiveness of Meta’s adverts, losing the company $10 billion in ad revenue last year alone. And now, as the economy slows, marketers are cutting back on their expenditures.

Meanwhile, to compete with TikTok, Meta is redesigning Facebook and Instagram to emphasize short videos and posts that its system suggests to users. On a conference call with analysts, Zuckerberg predicted that the percentage of material people view on Facebook and Instagram from accounts they don’t follow will more than double next year. Building the AI required to make it happen, he claims, is an expensive investment.

Despite losing income, Meta managed to increase Facebook’s daily users by 3% to 1.97 billion, reversing a concerning decrease in users noticed a few quarters before. Meta said that 2.88 billion people use its social programs — Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp — every day, a 4% rise from the previous year.

Zuckerberg stated that the business has noticed “engagement trends” on Facebook that was “stronger than we anticipated,” owing partly to an increase in video viewing. Reels, the business’s short-form video format aimed at TikTok, he claims, is earning quicker than Stories, which the company stole from Snapchat some years ago. The firm anticipates Reels to be a revenue generator in the long term, but for the time being, the company is emphasizing Reels and not earning much money from them.

“This is a period that demands more intensity, and I expect us to get more done with fewer resources,” Zuckerberg stated during the results conference with investors, echoing statements he made to staff lately about cost-cutting. “I think we’re going to come through this period as a stronger and more disciplined organization.”

Highlights of Meta earnings report for Q2 2022

Family daily active people (DAP) – DAP was 2.88 billion on average for June 2022, an increase of 4% year-over-year.
Family monthly active people (MAP) – MAP was 3.65 billion as of June 30, 2022, an increase of 4% year-over-year.
Facebook daily active users (DAUs) – DAUs were 1.97 billion on average for June 2022, an increase of 3% year-over-year.
Facebook monthly active users (MAUs) – MAUs were 2.93 billion as of June 30, 2022, an increase of 1% year-over-year.
Ad impressions and price per ad – In the second quarter of 2022, ad impressions delivered across our Family of Apps increased by 15% year over year and the average price per ad decreased by 14% year over year.
Capital expenditures – Capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, were $7.75 billion for the second quarter of 2022.
Share repurchases – We repurchased $5.08 billion of our Class A common stock in the second quarter of 2022. As of June 30, 2022, we had $24.32 billion available and authorized for repurchases.
Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities – Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $40.49 billion as of June 30, 2022.
Headcount – Headcount was 83,553 as of June 30, 2022, an increase of 32% year-over-year.