META Q3 2019 Earnings

Call Details

• Call Title: Meta Platforms, Inc. Q3 2019 Earnings Call
• Date: October 30, 2019 at 9:00 PM UTC
• Management Team:
  • Deborah Crawford (Vice President of Investor Relations)
  • Mark Zuckerberg (Chief Executive Officer)
  • Sheryl Sandberg (Chief Operating Officer)
  • Dave Wehner (Chief Financial Officer)

Call Summary

Financial Performance

• Q3 total revenue was $17.7B, up 29% year-over-year and up 31% on a constant currency basis.
• Q3 ad revenue was $17.4B, up 28% year-over-year and up 31% on a constant currency basis.
• Facebook Daily Active Users reached 1.62B, up 9% year-over-year and representing approximately 66% of 2.45B MAUs.
• Facebook Monthly Active Users were 2.45B, up 8% year-over-year or 178 million compared to last year.
• Family metrics were reported at around 2.2B daily users and around 2.8B monthly users across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
• Ad impressions increased 37% year-over-year while average price per ad declined 6% year-over-year.
• Operating income was $7.2B with a 41% operating margin, net income was $6.1B or $2.12 per share, total expenses were $10.5B, and capital expenditures were $3.7B.

Guidance

• Q4 reported revenue growth is expected to decelerate by a mid to high single-digit percentage compared to Q3's reported rate.
• The Q4 deceleration is attributed to lapping several product optimizations from Q4 2018 and ad targeting related headwinds.
• 2019 total expenses are expected to be approximately $46 to $48B, which includes $5B in accruals recorded related to the FTC settlement.
• 2019 capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $16B, revised from the prior $16-$18B estimate.
• The company expects a Q4 tax rate in the range of 18% to 20% and anticipates a 2020 effective tax rate of 18% to 20%.
• 2020 total expenses are projected at $54 to $59B driven by re-accelerated headcount growth and growth in non-headcount expenses such as marketing.
• 2020 capital expenditures are guided to approximately $17 to $19B, focused on data centers, servers, office facilities, and network infrastructure.