Why Alphabet, Pinterest Shares Are Rising After Hours

Advertising and social-media stocks, including Alphabet Inc GOOG and Pinterest Inc PINS, are moving higher in the wake of strong fourth-quarter financial results from social media ad giant Meta Platforms Inc META.

What Happened: Meta reported fourth-quarter revenue of $32.17 billion, which beat average analyst estimates of $31.53 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.76 per share, which missed estimates of $2.22 per share. 

Meta said it ended the fourth quarter with 2.96 billion daily active people across its family of products, representing an increase of 5% year-over-year.

Fourth-quarter ad impressions were up 23% year-over-year, which appears to be driving several ad-related names higher. 

The company also updated its outlook and increased its buyback authorization by $40 billion. 

Everything You Need To Know: Meta Platforms Q4 Earnings: Shares Soar On Revenue Beat, Updated Guidance; Here's What Mark Zuckerberg Says

Alphabet and Pinterest are seeing the biggest boost from Meta's fourth-quarter report. Alphabet generates more than 50% of its revenue from Google Search ads. Pinterest also generates a significant portion of its revenue from ads and operates in the social media space.

Snap Inc SNAP is also moving higher following Meta's report, but it's not seeing as much buying interest, likely because it reported disappointing earnings this week. 

Alphabet is set to report its fourth-quarter financial results after the market close on Thursday. Pinterest is scheduled to report after the close on Monday.

GOOG, PINS Price Action: At the time of publication, Alphabet and Pinterest were both up nearly 4% in after-hours, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Photo Mix from Pixabay.