Looking back on social networking stocks' Q4 earnings, we examine this quarter's best and worst performers, including Meta (NASDAQ:META) and its peers.

Businesses must meet their customers where they are, which over the past decade has come to mean on social networks. In 2020, users spent over 2.5 hours a day on social networks, a figure that has increased every year since measurement began. As a result, businesses continue to shift their advertising and marketing dollars online.

The 4 social networking stocks we track reported a mixed Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 2.1% while next quarter's revenue guidance was 3.7% above consensus. Inflation (despite slowing) has investors prioritizing near-term cash flows, but social networking stocks held their ground better than others, with share prices down 3.2% on average since the previous earnings results.

Meta (NASDAQ:META)

Famously founded by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) operates a collection of the largest social networks in the world - Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, along with its metaverse focused Facebook Reality Labs.

Meta reported revenues of $40.11 billion, up 24.7% year on year, topping analyst expectations by 2.4%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with revenue, operating income, and EPS exceeding analysts' estimates. These beats were driven by better-than-expected daily and monthly active users along with a 21% year-on-year increase in ad impressions.

"We had a good quarter as our community and business continue to grow," said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO.

Meta achieved the fastest revenue growth of the whole group. The company reported 3.98 billion monthly active users, up 6.4% year on year. The stock is up 27.9% since the results and currently trades at $505.

Read why we think that Meta is one of the best social networking stocks, our full report is free.

Best Q4: Nextdoor (NYSE:KIND)

Helping residents figure out what's happening on their block in real time, Nextdoor (NYSE:KIND) is a social network that connects neighbors with each other and with local businesses.

Nextdoor reported revenues of $55.56 million, up 4.3% year on year, outperforming analyst expectations by 8.6%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter and an impressive beat of analysts' revenue estimates.

Nextdoor delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The company reported 41.8 million daily active users, up 4.5% year on year. The stock is up 8.8% since the results and currently trades at $2.23.

Is now the time to buy Nextdoor? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Weakest Q4: Snap (NYSE:SNAP)

Founded by Stanford University students Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy, and originally called Picaboo, Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) is an image centric social media network.

Snap reported revenues of $1.36 billion, up 4.7% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 1.5%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' revenue estimates and underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

Snap had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The company reported 414 million daily active users, up 10.4% year on year. The stock is down 35.9% since the results and currently trades at $11.19.

Read our full analysis of Snap's results here.

Pinterest (NYSE:PINS)

Created with the idea of virtually replacing paper catalogues, Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) is an online image and social discovery platform.

Pinterest reported revenues of $981.3 million, up 11.9% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 0.9%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' revenue estimates and slow revenue growth.

The company reported 498 million monthly active users, up 10.7% year on year. The stock is down 13.7% since the results and currently trades at $35.15.

Read our full, actionable report on Pinterest here, it's free.

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