Meta Platforms Add $196bn 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.

Meta’s stock surged 20.3% 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 authorised 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 (AAPL.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Nvidia (NVDA.O).

Friday’s increase in Meta’s market Capitalisation eclipsed the previous record held by Amazon (AMZN.O), 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 U.S. stock market history, after it issued a dismal forecast.

Optimism about the potential for artificial intelligence contributed to a 24% rally in the S&P 500 (.SPX), last year, with Meta, Nvidia, Microsoft and Broadcom recently hitting record highs.

With Friday’s gain, Meta is now up 35% in 2024.