Meta, Amazon job cuts, belt-tightening pay off for investors

Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. spent 2023 cutting costs and re-focusing their businesses.

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It was a strategy that upended the lives of displaced tech workers in Seattle and Silicon Valley.

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However, it appears to have paid off handsomely for investors who are likely to continue reaping benefits.

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Meta, which cut headcount by 22% in 2023, unveiled plans for a $50 billion stock buyback.

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It also announced its first ever quarterly dividend, a sign to investors that it has money to spare and a reason for them to stick around.

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The evolving economic landscape prompts investors to reassess traditional market narratives for potential opportunities in 2024.

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Amazon investors asked about any plans to return capital to shareholders and executives were noncommittal.

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Amazon initiated its biggest-ever round of corporate job cuts beginning in 2022 that affected about 35,000 people last year.

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Already in 2024, the company has said more positions will be eliminated in its Prime Video, studios and Twitch livestreaming businesses.

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Both companies also reported holiday quarter revenue growth in their central businesses, digital advertising for Meta and e-commerce sales for Amazon.

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The results sent Meta’s shares up 15% in extended trading while Amazon’s stock rose more than 7%.

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