- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
Facebook parent Meta calms investors with strong profit
Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday reported better profit than expected in the recently ended quarter, calming investors worried about the toll of competition from TikTok and eased pandemic restrictions on the company.
Meta said it made a profit of $7.5 billion on revenue of $27.9 billion in the first three months of this year, sending shares up more than 15 percent in after-market trading that followed release of the earnings figures.
"We made progress this quarter across a number of key company priorities and we remain confident in the long-term opportunities and growth that our product roadmap will unlock," said Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg.
The average number of people using Facebook monthly rose 3 percent to 2.94 billion by the end of March, while some 3.64 billion people used at least one member of Meta's family of apps each month, the tech giant reported.
Meta owns Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram and virtual reality firm Oculus.
"More people use our services today than ever before, and I'm proud of how our products are serving people around the world," Zuckerberg said.
Investors had been worried that as the pandemic eased and people socialized more in real life that they would engage less on Facebook. There were also concerns about competition from video sharing sensation TikTok.
Zuckerberg has cited pressure from TikTok, and Facebook launched its own short-form video sharing feature Reels which has seen fast growth.
Expenses at Meta climbed 31 percent to $19.4 billion when compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Meta said that it ended the quarter with 77,805 employees, an increase of 28 percent from a year ago.
Meta has been investing heavily in a future that Zuckerberg believes will include people spending time in immersive virtual worlds referred to as the metaverse.
Doubts have swirled about whether the major metaverse investments will pay off for Meta, which changed its name from Facebook last year to highlight its shifting focus -- though critics claim it was to distract from negative media reports.
The metaverse is a 3D virtual world where people will be able to interact using sensors, head gear and other gadgets.
Meta's early metaverse platform, called Horizon Worlds, already allows people to socialize virtually while represented by avatars.
F.Moura--PC