Meta Revenue Jumps 26% to $64.601 Billion in Third Quarter
Key Facts
Meta reported revenue of $64.601 billion in the third quarter of 2026, up 26% from $51.242 billion in the same period last year, beating Wall Street expectations of $63.34 billion. Results were supported by growth in advertising across the company’s apps, with ad impressions rising 10% year over year and the average price per ad increasing 14%. The company said stronger ad demand, driven mainly by improvements to targeting and measurement tools, contributed to the higher average price. It added that e-commerce was the largest single contributor to the increase in advertising revenue. The results highlight the broadening of the company’s commercial base alongside its growing investments in artificial intelligence.
Reported earnings improved from a year earlier, with net income of $9.860 billion and diluted earnings per share of $3.83, compared with $2.709 billion and $1.05 in the third quarter of 2025. However, expenses for the period included a $9.89 billion charge related to an agreement Meta reached in August 2026 with state attorneys general to settle lawsuits concerning teen mental health and social media. The legal charge weighs on the interpretation of operating results, alongside the cost of expanding AI infrastructure. On usage, the average number of daily active people across the company’s family of apps reached 3.64 billion in September, up 3% from a year earlier. User growth gives advertising services a broader base, while turning AI products into additional revenue remains a work in progress.
During the quarter, Meta launched the Muse and Muse Wonder models, describing Muse as its first frontier model. Mark Zuckerberg said Muse accounts had exceeded 10 million by the results announcement on October 21, 2026. This initial reach indicates the product has reached a wide audience, but on its own does not establish how much revenue it can generate. Meta said the service is free for most uses, with subscription plans for those seeking more features. The company did not say that commerce is an existing or confirmed source of revenue for Muse, making subscriptions the only announced path to direct income from the service so far.
Meta raised its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to $135–145 billion, including finance lease principal payments, compared with a previous forecast of $130 billion to $145 billion. It also forecast full-year expenses of $175 billion to $179 billion. The guidance indicates the scale of resources the company is allocating to infrastructure as it bets that AI investments will support its existing business and open up new opportunities. For the fourth quarter of 2026, Meta expects revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion. The company did not provide a full revenue forecast for 2027, but said it expects strong overall growth to continue during the year, with contributions from AI investments and new products.
Results that beat expectations did not prevent Meta shares from falling more than 7% on October 22, as Reuters linked the decline to investor concerns over higher AI spending forecasts and a plan to issue new shares. Reuters said the stock fell 7.0% despite results exceeding analyst estimates. On October 26, the stock closed at $630.56, according to EL7 data. UBS maintained its “Buy” rating on October 22 and raised its price target from $884 to $892, according to Yahoo Finance’s analyst ratings page. This record does not show that UBS upgraded the stock to “Strong Buy,” nor does it confirm the rating attributed in the previous draft to Seeking Alpha.