Meta Q3 2026 Earnings: 4.6B Revenue Beats, Legal Charge Cuts Operating Profit

Meta has reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% from a year earlier and ahead of Wall Street's $63.4 billion consensus. Advertising remained the growth engine, with ad impressions up 10% and average price per ad up 14%, while the company's family of apps reached 3.64 billion daily users — Facebook and Instagram posted all-time highs in engagement, and Threads has now surpassed X in monthly active users.
The bottom line was weighed down by a $9.89 billion legal charge tied to Meta's August settlement with 52 US state attorneys general over teen mental health and social media. Operating income fell 37% to $13 billion, but net income still surged 264% to $9.86 billion — or $3.83 per share — largely because last year's quarter was hit by an unusual $15.9 billion tax charge. Capital spending hit $34.9 billion as Meta builds AI data centers, pushing free cash flow negative $2.1 billion.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the launch of Muse and Muse Wonder, Meta's first frontier AI models, and the board approved a new non-voting Class C share class to fund the AI race without loosening his control. Meta guided fourth-quarter revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion.
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