Third-quarter revenue rose 26% from a year earlier to $64.6 billion, and Meta guided fourth-quarter revenue to $73 billion to $76 billion against an analyst average of $73.73 billion.
Net profit of $9.86 billion came in almost 50% below investor expectations, which Meta tied to a $9.9 billion charge from a settlement with nearly all US states.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found it had deceived users in a Cambridge Analytica-related case, and Meta plans to appeal.
Meta lifted the low end of its 2026 AI infrastructure spending range by $5 billion to $135 billion and kept the top at $145 billion.
From January 2027 Meta plans to issue non-voting class C shares in a 2:1 split, keeping Mark Zuckerberg's voting control while it raises capital.
Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion on Wednesday, 21 October, up 26% from a year earlier and ahead of analyst expectations. Net profit came to $9.86 billion, almost 50% below investor expectations, after the company booked a $9.9 billion charge linked to a settlement with nearly all US states. Earnings per share halved to $3.83, and would have risen to $7.40 without the burden of the settlement. The settlement, agreed in August to resolve claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive, carries a payment of up to $18 billion. Tagesschau put the total above $17 billion.
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Hours before the earnings release, a judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $25 billion. A jury had found last month that the company deceived users in a case related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and Meta has said it will appeal the ruling. On the earnings call, CFO Susan Li described the company's position on pending matters.
“We continue to monitor active legal and regulatory matters that could significantly impact our business and financial results”
Li added that Meta still faces a number of youth-related trials scheduled in the coming months in the United States. Shares rose in after-hours trading despite the ruling and the settlement charge.
Meta now expects to spend between $135 billion and $145 billion on AI infrastructure this year, after raising the lower end of the range by $5 billion. The earlier range was $130 billion to $145 billion. Separately, Meta said it has agreed to spend about $825 billion in the future on leases and contracts, many of them tied to computing power and AI infrastructure. For the fourth quarter, Meta forecast revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion, while analysts had on average predicted $73.73 billion.
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From January 2027, Meta plans to create new non-voting class C shares, which will amount to a 2:1 stock split. The shares are meant to finance the spending while preserving Mark Zuckerberg's voting control. Reuters reported that Zuckerberg expects the move to ease financing for acquisitions and help keep top talent.
Meta says its Muse AI agent has about 10 million users in the United States and Canada. Agents like Muse can make purchases or organise appointments for their users, but the product is not yet profitable, and advertising on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp still generates most of the company's income. In September, Meta announced the Muse Charm at its Connect conference, a tamagotchi-like AI device that lets users interact with their Muse agent without a smartphone.
“We're about to ship Muse Charm, which will have gone from concept to a hardware device in people's pockets in less than a year”
Zuckerberg also said Reality Labs, the hardware division developing AI-powered glasses, should improve from here and trend towards profitability. Meta said at least one of its apps reached 3.64 billion users, up from 3.60 billion three months earlier.
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Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion on Wednesday, 21 October, but net profit fell short of investor expectations after a $9.9 billion settlement charge. The company also raised the low end of its 2026 AI infrastructure spending range.
AI text based on reports by Bloomberg Business, RTE.ie, Wirtschafts Woche and other publishers. Changed .