Our board of directors has authorized a share repurchase program of our Class A common stock, which commenced in January 2017 and does not have an expiration date. As of December 31, 2023, $30.93 billion remained available and authorized for repurchases under this program. In January 2024, an additional $50 billion of repurchases was authorized under this program. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we repurchased and subsequently retired 34 million shares of our Class A common stock for an aggregate amount of $14.64 billion, which includes the 1% excise tax accruals as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. As of March 31, 2024, $66.40 billion remained available and authorized for repurchases.

The timing and actual number of shares repurchased under the repurchase program depend on a variety of factors, including price, general business and market conditions, and other investment opportunities. Shares may be repurchased through open market purchases or privately negotiated transactions, including through the use of trading plans intended to qualify under Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

On February 1, 2024, we announced the initiation of our first ever cash dividend program and Meta's board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.50 per share of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock to all holders of record of common stock at the close of business on February 22, 2024. These dividends were paid in March 2024, totaling to $1.10 billion and $174 million for Class A and Class B shares, respectively.

Subject to legally available funds and future declaration by our board of directors, we currently intend to continue to pay a quarterly cash dividend on our outstanding common stock. The declaration and payment of future dividends is at the sole discretion of our board of directors after taking into account various factors, including our financial condition, operating results, available cash, and current and anticipated cash needs.

As of March 31, 2024, there were 464 million shares of our Class A common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (Amended 2012 Plan), which was most recently amended in December 2022.

The following table summarizes our share-based compensation expense, which consists of the RSU expense, by line item in our condensed consolidated statements of income (in millions):


	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2024		2023
Cost of revenue		$	221	$	160
Research and development		2,911		2,449
Marketing and sales		226		219
General and administrative		204		223
Total share-based compensation expense		$	3,562	$	3,051


	Number of Shares	Weighted-Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
	(in thousands)
Unvested at December 31, 2023	149,062	$	209.85
Granted	39,117	$	501.14
Vested	(16,003)	$	212.85
Forfeited	(2,108)	$	218.80
Unvested at March 31, 2024	170,068	$	276.45

The fair value as of the respective vesting dates of RSUs that vested during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was $7.58 billion and $2.44 billion, respectively. The income tax benefit recognized related to awards vested during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was $1.61 billion and $519 million, respectively.

As of March 31, 2024, there was $45.04 billion of unrecognized share-based compensation expense related to RSU awards. This unrecognized compensation expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately three years based on vesting under the award service conditions.