April 27, 2023: On Wednesday, Facebook parent Meta is made to report initial-quarter revenues after the close of regular trading.

In February, since Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that 2023 would be the firm’s “year of efficiency,” the stock has been rising, cutting into its historical failures in the previous year.

Investors have rallied near Zuckerberg’s plans to slim down his company through layoffs, which results in a few 21,000 expected job cuts. The firm most recently said goodbye to a few technical workers last week and plans another round of cuts in May, targeting employees in business firms.

Meta’s downsizing efforts started as the firm’s revenue base shrunk from a battered online advertising market and the lingering effects of Apple’s iOS privacy update that limited ad targeting capabilities. The company is also facing increased competition starting from rival TikTok.

The Facebook parent could hit its fourth consecutive quarterly sales decrease if it posts initial-quarter results at the low end of its last guidance, known for revenue of between $26 billion and $28.5 billion.

Google parent Alphabet, dominating the online ad market along with Meta, reported initial-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations, though ad earnings decreased from the prior year.

Outside its core business, Wall Street will also want to hear Meta’s latest plans for putting money in the metaverse, a futuristic virtual and augmented reality world. Since changing its title from Facebook to Meta in 2021, the firm has been spending billions of dollars a quarter for the metaverse on technology, even as earnings are expected to be insignificant.

Analysts anticipate Reality Labs, the metaverse division, to record an operating loss for the initial quarter of $3.95 billion, according to StreetAccount.

Meta shares have increased 72% this year after losing nearly two-thirds of their value. The stock closed at $207.55 on Tuesday.