Meta said on Wednesday that it expected to see strong revenue growth in its advertising business in the coming months, even as President Trump’s tariffs threaten to batter the global economy.
The Silicon Valley company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, also reported rising revenue and profit for the first quarter, buoyed by Instagram and Facebook ads. But it added that it would monitor the “active regulatory landscape,” which includes legal challenges in the European Union and the United States that could “significantly impact” its core business.
Revenue for the first quarter was $42.3 billion, up 16 percent from a year earlier and above Wall Street estimates of $41.3 billion, according to data compiled by FactSet, a market analysis firm. Profit was $16.6 billion, up 35 percent from $12.4 billion a year earlier and surpassing estimates of $13.6 billion.
For the current quarter, Meta said it expects revenue of $42.5 billion to $45.5 billion, with the high end of that range above Wall Street expectations of $43.8 billion. The company’s shares rose more than 5 percent in after-hours trading.
“We’ve had a strong start to an important year, our community continues to grow and our business is performing very well,” said Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta.
Meta’s business has been robust in recent years as the company has invested in artificial intelligence to suggest different posts, videos and ads to users. Mr. Zuckerberg has said the investments have kept people coming back to Meta’s apps more regularly and clicking more relevant ads.
