Meta soars after first-ever dividend plan, ‘Year of Efficiency’ pays off

Meta surged 17% in premarket trading on Friday as the Facebook parent’s first dividend declaration and robust results increased expectations of strong returns from its investments in “metaverse” technologies and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Days ahead of Facebook’s 20th anniversary, Meta authorized an additional $50 billion in share repurchases and said its quarterly dividend would be 50 cents per share.

The social media giant is the first of its generation of internet juggernauts to issue a dividend, and the fourth from the so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks, with its yield of 0.51% matching that of Apple, according to LSEG data.