Meta surges with record $196b gain in stock market value

Meta Platforms added $196 billion in stock market value on Friday, marking the biggest one-day gain by any company in Wall Street history after the Facebook parent declared its first dividend and posted robust results, reports Reuters.
Meta's, opens new tab stock surged 20.3 per cent for the session, also recording its biggest one-day percentage increase in a year and its third biggest since its 2012 Wall Street debut. Its stock market value now stands at more than $1.22 trillion.
Days ahead of Facebook's 20th anniversary, Meta late on Thursday authorized an additional $50 billion in share repurchases and said its quarterly dividend would be 50 cents per share.
While dividends are associated with mature, slow-growth companies, Meta's is the fourth offered by Wall Street's most valuable technology-related heavyweights, along with Apple, opens new tab, Microsoft, opens new tab and Nvidia, opens new tab.
"Paying a dividend suggests the company wants to reboot its reputation and be taken more seriously. But ultimately the amount being paid is only a token gesture," said Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst at AJ Bell.
Friday's increase in Meta's market capitalization eclipsed the previous record held by Amazon, opens new tab, which saw its market value surge by $190 billion on Feb. 4, 2022 following a blowout quarterly report. One day before, Meta lost over $200 billion in value, the biggest loss in US stock market history, after it issued a dismal forecast.
Meta's dividend plan means a hefty payout for CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who owns about 350 million Meta Class A and Class B shares. The Facebook co-founder could get about $175 million every quarter.
Optimism about the potential for artificial intelligence contributed to a 24 per cent rally in the S&P 500, opens new tab last year, with Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft and Broadcom, opens new tab recently hitting record highs.