Meta’ aggressive push into AI development spooked Wall Street on Wednesday, despite the tech company reporting first quarter income that soared by 117% on revenues up 27% to $36.46 billion, both of which beat analysts’ consensus estimates.
But plans by the company to further boost its spending on AI initiatives — as Meta races to compete with Google, Microsoft and OpenAI — led to pointed questions by analysts about the company’s ability to turn monetize those investments. Meta shares plummeted 16% in after-hours trading.
Revenues: $36.46 billion, up 27% from the year-ago period
Net income: $12.37 billion, a 117% increase over $5.71