Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp may be banned in China. But that has not stopped the world’s second-biggest economy from being an important engine of growth for parent company Meta.

Meta’s decisions to pay its first-ever dividend and increase share buybacks by $50bn are certainly eye-catching. However investors — particularly those fuelling the stock’s 22 per cent rise on Friday — would do well to pay attention to the company’s ad revenue rebound and China’s role in it.

Politically, Meta is still in the hot seat. Financially, the Silicon Valley stalwart ended 2023 with a bang. It pulled in over $40bn in revenue during the fourth quarter, a 25 per cent increase from the year ago period. Aggressive cost-cutting — including the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs as part of Mark Zuckerberg’s plans for a “year of efficiency” — helped triple net income to $14bn. Full year revenue of $135bn was a new record.