Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call that Instagram Threads now boasts over 130 million monthly active users. This text-based social networking app emerged following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, now known as X, competing with various startups and open-source projects like Bluesky, Mastodon, Nostr, Post, and others.
Zuckerberg mentioned that Threads is steadily growing, despite experiencing an unexpected surge in popularity before Meta was fully prepared for it. He noted that Threads currently has more active users than during its initial launch peak, indicating its potential for significant success.
In the previous quarter, Zuckerberg expressed optimism about Threads, envisioning its potential to reach 1 billion users within a few years. Meta’s entire app ecosystem, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, saw a steady increase in daily and monthly active users, reaching 3.19 billion and 3.98 billion, respectively, in the fourth quarter.
Recent data suggests that Threads is gaining momentum, with December downloads tripling and ranking as the sixth most downloaded app globally across app stores. Leveraging Instagram’s vast user base, Threads achieved rapid adoption, hitting 100 million registered users within five days of its launch. Although interest waned initially, Meta’s promotional efforts reignited growth, securing Threads’ position among the top 10 most downloaded apps.
Zuckerberg’s remarks aim to dispel concerns surrounding Threads’ decline, which some prematurely labeled as dead. With an estimated 160 million users, Threads’ resurgence indicates sustained relevance in the social networking landscape.
In terms of financial performance, Meta exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $40.1 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023, along with earnings of $5.33 per share and a net income of $14.02 billion. For the full year, revenue amounted to $134.90 billion. Additionally, Meta announced its inaugural cash dividend of $0.50 per share, scheduled for payment in March to shareholders.
