Congratulations to any investor who was holding Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) prior to Wednesday's close. Shares jumped more than 23% on Thursday, driven higher by the announcement of a $40 billion buyback. That's roughly a tenth of the company's current market cap, and nearly twice last year's net income... a pretty big deal. The social media giant continued to add users too, assuring nervous investors it's still got a few growth tricks up its sleeve.

Before presuming everything is completely hunky-dory in Meta-land, though, you might want to digest a couple of concerning details about the fourth quarter's numbers.

It takes money to make money -- nobody's denying that. Meta's spending, however, isn't nearly as cost-effective as it was just a few quarters ago.

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Source Fool.com