MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) today reported financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.
“We had a solid quarter as people turned to our products to stay connected and businesses continued to use our services to grow,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. “I’m encouraged by the progress we made this past year in a number of important growth areas like Reels, commerce, and virtual reality, and we’ll continue investing in these and other key priorities in 2022 as we work towards building the metaverse.”
Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Highlights
Three Months Ended December 31,
Year-over-
Year %
Change
Year Ended December 31,
Year-over-
Year %
Change
In millions, except percentages and
2021
2020
2021
2020
per share amounts
Total revenue
$ 33,671
$ 28,072
20%
$ 117,929
$ 85,965
37%
Total costs and expenses
21,086
15,297
38%
71,176
53,294
34%
Income from operations
$ 12,585
$ 12,775
(1)%
$ 46,753
$ 32,671
43%
Operating margin
37%
46%
40%
38%
Provision for income taxes
$ 2,417
$ 1,836
32%
$ 7,914
$ 4,034
96%
Effective tax rate
19%
14%
17%
12%
Net income
$ 10,285
$ 11,219
(8)%
$ 39,370
$ 29,146
35%
Diluted earnings per share (EPS)
$ 3.67
$ 3.88
(5)%
$ 13.77
$ 10.09
36%
Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Operational and Other Financial Highlights
New Financial Reporting Segment Structure and Operating Results
Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2021, we report our financial results based on two reportable segments:
Segment Information
(In millions)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Year Ended December 31,
December 31,
2021
September 30,
2021
June 30,
2021
March 31,
2021
December 31,
2020
2021
2020
2019
Revenue:
Advertising
$ 32,639
$ 28,276
$ 28,580
$ 25,439
$ 27,187
$ 114,934
$ 84,169
$ 69,655
Other revenue
155
176
192
198
168
721
657
541
Family of Apps
32,794
28,452
28,772
25,637
27,355
115,655
84,826
70,196
Reality Labs
877
558
305
534
717
2,274
1,139
501
Total revenue
$ 33,671
$ 29,010
$ 29,077
$ 26,171
$ 28,072
$ 117,929
$ 85,965
$ 70,697
Income (loss) from operations:
Family of Apps
$ 15,889
$ 13,054
$ 14,799
$ 13,205
$ 14,874
$ 56,946
$ 39,294
$ 28,489
Reality Labs
(3,304)
(2,631)
(2,432)
(1,827)
(2,099)
(10,193)
(6,623)
(4,503)
Total income from operations
$ 12,585
$ 10,423
$ 12,367
$ 11,378
$ 12,775
$ 46,753
$ 32,671
$ 23,986
CFO Outlook Commentary
We expect first quarter 2022 total revenue to be in the range of $27-29 billion, which represents 3-11% year-over-year growth. We expect our year-over-year growth in the first quarter to be impacted by headwinds to both impression and price growth.
In addition, as previously noted, we also continue to monitor developments regarding the viability of transatlantic data transfers and their potential impact on our European operations.
We expect 2022 total expenses to be in the range of $90-95 billion, updated from our prior outlook of $91-97 billion. Our anticipated expense growth is driven by investments in technical and product talent and infrastructure-related costs.
We expect 2022 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, to be in the range of $29-34 billion, unchanged from our prior estimate. Our planned capital expenditures are primarily driven by investments in data centers, servers, network infrastructure, and office facilities. As we discussed previously, this range reflects a significant increase in our artificial intelligence and machine learning investments, which will support a number of areas across our Family of Apps. While our Reality Labs products and services may require more infrastructure capacity in the future, they do not require substantial capacity today and, as a result, are not a significant driver of 2022 capital expenditures.
Absent any changes to U.S. tax law, we expect our full-year 2022 tax rate to be similar to the full-year 2021 rate.
Ticker Symbol Change to META
Meta’s Class A common stock is expected to begin trading on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ‘META’ in the first half of 2022. This will replace the current ticker symbol ‘FB,’ which has been used since the company’s initial public offering in 2012, and more details on exact timing will be forthcoming. No action is required by our stockholders with respect to the ticker symbol change and it does not affect the rights of our stockholders. Our Class A common stock will continue to be listed on NASDAQ and the CUSIP number will remain unchanged.
Webcast and Conference Call Information
Meta will host a conference call to discuss the results at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET today. The live webcast of Meta’s earnings conference call can be accessed at investor.fb.com, along with the earnings press release, financial tables, and slide presentation. Meta uses the investor.fb.com and about.fb.com/news/ websites as well as Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook Page (facebook.com/zuck) and Instagram account (instagram.com/zuck) as means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.
Following the call, a replay will be available at the same website. A telephonic replay will be available for one week following the conference call at +1 (402) 977-9140 or +1 (800) 633-8284, conference ID 22013689.
Transcripts of conference calls with publishing equity research analysts held today will also be posted to the investor.fb.com website.
About Meta
Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.
Contacts
Investors:
Deborah Crawford
investor@fb.com / investor.fb.com
Press:
Ryan Moore
press@fb.com / about.fb.com/news/
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our future business plans and expectations. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and financial results; our ability to retain or increase users and engagement levels; our reliance on advertising revenue; our dependency on data signals and mobile operating systems, networks, and standards that we do not control; risks associated with new products and changes to existing products as well as other new business initiatives, including our metaverse efforts; our emphasis on community growth and engagement and the user experience over short-term financial results; maintaining and enhancing our brand and reputation; our ongoing privacy, safety, security, and content review efforts; competition; risks associated with government actions that could restrict access to our products or impair our ability to sell advertising in certain countries; litigation and government inquiries; privacy and regulatory concerns; risks associated with acquisitions; security breaches; and our ability to manage growth and geographically-dispersed operations. These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on October 26, 2021, which is available on our Investor Relations website at investor.fb.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. In addition, please note that the date of this press release is February 2, 2022, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), we use the following non-GAAP financial measures: revenue excluding foreign exchange effect, advertising revenue excluding foreign exchange effect and free cash flow. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. In addition, these measures may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures.
We believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with useful supplemental information about the financial performance of our business, enable comparison of financial results between periods where certain items may vary independent of business performance, and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in operating our business.
We exclude the following items from our non-GAAP financial measures:
Foreign exchange effect on revenue. We translated revenue for the three months and full year ended December 31, 2021 using the prior year’s monthly exchange rates for our settlement or billing currencies other than the U.S. dollar, which we believe is a useful metric that facilitates comparison to our historical performance.
Purchases of property and equipment; Principal payments on finance leases. We subtract both purchases of property and equipment and principal payments on finance leases in our calculation of free cash flow because we believe that these two items collectively represent the amount of property and equipment we need to procure to support our business, regardless of whether we procure such property or equipment with a finance lease. We believe that this methodology can provide useful supplemental information to help investors better understand underlying trends in our business. Free cash flow is not intended to represent our residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures.
For more information on our non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures, please see the “Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Results” table in this press release.
META PLATFORMS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In millions, except for per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended December 31,
Twelve Months Ended December 31,
2021
2020
2021
2020
Revenue
$ 33,671
$ 28,072
$ 117,929
$ 85,965
Costs and expenses:
Cost of revenue
6,348
5,210
22,649
16,692
Research and development
7,046
5,208
24,655
18,447
Marketing and sales
4,387
3,280
14,043
11,591
General and administrative
3,305
1,599
9,829
6,564
Total costs and expenses
21,086
15,297
71,176
53,294
Income from operations
12,585
12,775
46,753
32,671
Interest and other income, net
117
280
531
509
Income before provision for income taxes
12,702
13,055
47,284
33,180
Provision for income taxes
2,417
1,836
7,914
4,034
Net income
$ 10,285
$ 11,219
$ 39,370
$ 29,146
Earnings per share attributable to Class A and Class B
common stockholders:
Basic
$ 3.72
$ 3.94
$ 13.99
$ 10.22
Diluted
$ 3.67
$ 3.88
$ 13.77
$ 10.09
Weighted-average shares used to compute earnings per
share attributable to Class A and Class B common
stockholders:
Basic
2,765
2,850
2,815
2,851
Diluted
2,799
2,890
2,859
2,888
Share-based compensation expense included in costs and
expenses:
Cost of revenue
$ 149
$ 120
$ 577
$ 447
Research and development
1,882
1,361
7,106
4,918
Marketing and sales
206
175
837
691
General and administrative
169
128
644
480
Total share-based compensation expense
$ 2,406
$ 1,784
$ 9,164
$ 6,536
META PLATFORMS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In millions)
(Unaudited)
December 31,
2021
December 31,
2020
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 16,601
$ 17,576
Marketable securities
31,397
44,378
Accounts receivable, net
14,039
11,335
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
4,629
2,381
Total current assets
66,666
75,670
Equity investments
6,775
6,234
Property and equipment, net
57,809
45,633
Operating lease right-of-use assets
12,155
9,348
Intangible assets, net
634
623
Goodwill
19,197
19,050
Other assets
2,751
2,758
Total assets
$ 165,987
$ 159,316
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 4,083
$ 1,331
Partners payable
1,052
1,093
Operating lease liabilities, current
1,127
1,023
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
14,312
11,152
Deferred revenue and deposits
561
382
Total current liabilities
21,135
14,981
Operating lease liabilities, non-current
12,746
9,631
Other liabilities
7,227
6,414
Total liabilities
41,108
31,026
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock and additional paid-in capital
55,811
50,018
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
(693)
927
Retained earnings
69,761
77,345
Total stockholders’ equity
124,879
128,290
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$ 165,987
$ 159,316
META PLATFORMS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In millions)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
December 31,
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2021
2020
2021
2020
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income
$ 10,285
$ 11,219
$ 39,370
$ 29,146
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by
operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
2,014
1,863
7,967
6,862
Share-based compensation
2,406
1,784
9,164
6,536
Deferred income taxes
748
(377)
609
(1,192)
Other
34
62
(127)
118
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
(2,038)
(3,059)
(3,110)
(1,512)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
817
225
(1,750)
135
Other assets
(165)
(25)
(349)
(34)
Accounts payable
876
(56)
1,436
(17)
Partners payable
151
278
(12)
178
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
2,462
2,218
3,357
(1,054)
Deferred revenue and deposits
100
(3)
187
108
Other liabilities
414
(89)
941
(527)
Net cash provided by operating activities
18,104
14,040
57,683
38,747
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property and equipment
(5,370)
(4,613)
(18,567)
(15,115)
Purchases of marketable securities
(6,093)
(5,737)
(30,407)
(33,930)
Sales of marketable securities
16,340
2,008
31,671
11,787
Maturities of marketable securities
1,598
3,260
10,915
13,984
Purchases of equity investments
(2)
(59)
(47)
(6,361)
Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired, and purchases of
intangible assets
(521)
(5)
(851)
(388)
Other investing activities
(123)
(27)
(284)
(36)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
5,829
(5,173)
(7,570)
(30,059)
Cash flows from financing activities
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards
(1,507)
(1,121)
(5,515)
(3,564)
Repurchases of Class A common stock
(20,063)
(1,928)
(44,537)
(6,272)
Principal payments on finance leases
(172)
(205)
(677)
(604)
Net change in overdraft in cash pooling entities
—
48
14
24
Other financing activities
—
—
(13)
124
Net cash used in financing activities
(21,742)
(3,206)
(50,728)
(10,292)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
(130)
314
(474)
279
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
2,061
5,975
(1,089)
(1,325)
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of the period
14,804
11,979
17,954
19,279
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of the period
$ 16,865
$ 17,954
$ 16,865
$ 17,954
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash to the condensed
consolidated balance sheets
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 16,601
$ 17,576
$ 16,601
$ 17,576
Restricted cash, included in prepaid expenses and other current assets
149
241
149
241
Restricted cash, included in other assets
115
137
115
137
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
$ 16,865
$ 17,954
$ 16,865
$ 17,954
META PLATFORMS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In millions)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
December 31,
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2021
2020
2021
2020
Supplemental cash flow data
Cash paid for income taxes, net
$ 606
$ 1,107
$ 8,525
$ 4,229
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Property and equipment in accounts payable and accrued expenses
and other current liabilities
$ 3,404
$ 2,201
$ 3,404
$ 2,201
Acquisition of businesses in accrued expenses and other current
liabilities and other liabilities
$ 73
$ 118
$ 73
$ 118
Other current assets through financing arrangement in accrued expenses
and other current liabilities
$ 508
$ —
$ 508
$ —
Repurchases of Class A common stock in accrued expenses and other
current liabilities
$ 340
$ 68
$ 340
$ 68
Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Results
(In millions, except percentages)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
December 31,
Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
2021
2020
2021
2020
GAAP revenue
$ 33,671
$ 28,072
$ 117,929
$ 85,965
Foreign exchange effect on 2021 revenue using 2020 rates
307
(1,640)
Revenue excluding foreign exchange effect
$ 33,978
$ 116,289
GAAP revenue year-over-year change %
20%
37%
Revenue excluding foreign exchange effect year-over-year change %
21%
35%
GAAP advertising revenue
$ 32,639
$ 27,187
$ 114,934
$ 84,169
Foreign exchange effect on 2021 advertising revenue using 2020 rates
306
(1,620)
Advertising revenue excluding foreign exchange effect
$ 32,945
$ 113,314
GAAP advertising revenue year-over-year change %
20%
37%
Advertising revenue excluding foreign exchange effect year-over-year change %
21%
35%
Net cash provided by operating activities
$ 18,104
$ 14,040
$ 57,683
$ 38,747
Purchases of property and equipment
(5,370)
(4,613)
(18,567)
(15,115)
Principal payments on finance leases
(172)
(205)
(677)
(604)
Free cash flow (1)
$ 12,562
$ 9,222
$ 38,439
$ 23,028
____________________________________
(1) Free cash flow in the year ended December 31, 2020 reflects the $5.0 billion FTC settlement that was paid in April 2020.
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