Shares of Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) surged 8.12% in early trading on Tuesday after the Chinese online music platform reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and announced a new $1 billion share repurchase program.

The company's Q4 revenue increased 8.2% year-over-year to 7.46 billion yuan ($1.02 billion), beating analyst estimates. The growth was primarily driven by a 16.1% jump in online music services revenue, which reached 5.83 billion yuan. Notably, music subscription revenue soared 18% to 4.03 billion yuan, with paying users rising 13.4% to 121 million.

Tencent Music's net profit for the quarter surged 47.3% to 2.08 billion yuan ($284 million), significantly exceeding market expectations. The strong performance was attributed to the company's focus on high-quality content and optimized user operations.

In addition to the robust financial results, investors were encouraged by TME's announcement of a new $1 billion share repurchase program over 24 months, as well as an annual cash dividend of approximately $273 million. These shareholder-friendly moves, coupled with the strong earnings report, fueled the stock's significant pre-market rally.

The company's executive chairman, Cussion Pang, expressed confidence in TME's future growth prospects, stating, "We are committed to delivering shareholder value while strategically positioning the company for long-term success."