This was reported by Bloomberg, as reported by Ukrinform.

He noted that both Meta and Amazon reported better-than-expected earnings, and their shares rose to a combined $279 billion in premarket trading.

Profits were boosted by tens of thousands of layoffs from 2022, as well as strong sales that beat analysts’ forecasts.

Meta, which cut its staff by 22% last year, announced plans to buy back $50 billion in shares and announced its first quarterly dividend on Thursday. Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg will receive about $700 million a year from his first dividend, according to Bloomberg.

Amazon posted its best growth in online sales since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, helped by faster delivery of goods. The company, which also launched its largest round of layoffs last year affecting 35,000 people starting in 2022, said it plans to eliminate more positions at businesses related to Prime Video, studios and Twitch livestreams.

The consequences of these actions led to a 17% increase in Meta shares and a 7% increase in Amazon shares in premarket trading before the stock markets opened in New York.

As reported in January, Mark Zuckerberg sold nearly half a billion dollars worth of Meta shares in the last two months of 2023.