News · Yahoo Finance

ETFs in Focus as META Drops 7% Despite Q3 Earnings Beat, Strong View

Meta Platforms (META) shares fell nearly 7% in the previous session, even though its third-quarter 2026 results, reported on Oct. 21, 2026, beat expectations. The decline was mainly driven by negative free cash flow and an upward revision to the lower end of full-year capital expenditure guidance, while long-term debt rose 38% year over year to $80.9 billion and persistent revenue weakness at Reality Labs was also seen as weighing on sentiment. Advertising remained strong, with partnership ads growing more than 97% and surpassing a $15 billion annual revenue run rate in the quarter. Adjusted EPS of $7.40 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 13.5%, revenue rose 26% year over year, and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $73-$76 billion sits above consensus. Rosenblatt raised its price target to $900 from $886 while keeping a Buy rating, and JPMorgan raised its target to $940; the article also highlights META-heavy ETFs, including FCOM ($1.78 billion in net assets, META at 25.61%, 8 bps fee) and VOX ($6 billion, META at 25.31%, 9 bps fee).

Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.

Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗

Keywords

METAearningsETFadvertising

Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.

Related tickers and likely impact

META

▼ Likely negative

Meta Platforms

Relevance: high

MarketUS stocks
SectorCommunication Services
IndustryInteractive Media & Services
Market cap$1.6T
Close on 10/22/2026648.85
Change that session-6.98%
META price, forecasts and signals →

Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.

Related news

  • BofA names Meta a top AI pick, raises price target on stronger ad growth

    Bank of America raised its price target on Meta Platforms to $845 from $810, kept its buy rating and named the company a top AI pick. Meta's third-quarter revenue reached $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year and above the $63.3 billion expected, with advertising revenue of $63.1 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $73 billion to $76 billion also topped the $73.6 billion Wall Street estimate. BofA said Meta's AI investments are improving content recommendations, ad targeting and advertiser returns, and that subscriptions, commerce and enterprise AI could add revenue from 2027. However, it trimmed its adjusted 2027 earnings estimate to $34 per share from $34.24 on higher costs, with capital expenditure forecast at about $210 billion and free cash flow projected to turn negative by roughly $33 billion.

    Yahoo Finance·▲ METAMETAadvertisingAI investment
  • Is Meta Platforms Stock a Buy as Revenue Continues to Soar?

    Meta reported third-quarter revenue up 26% to $64.6 billion, beating the $63.37 billion consensus, and adjusted EPS of $7.40 excluding a large legal settlement, versus $5.75 expected. Advertising revenue rose 26% on a 14% higher average ad price and a 10% increase in impressions, with AI tools improving ad targeting. Reality Labs posted revenue down 6% to $443 million and an operating loss of $4.1 billion, while the new Muse AI agents drew over 10 million users in the U.S. and Canada about a month and a half after launch. Meta forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion, but free cash flow was negative $2.1 billion in the quarter as capex reached $34.9 billion. The author views the stock as attractively valued, trading at a forward P/E of 19 based on 2027 estimates.

    Yahoo Finance·▲ METAMETAearningsadvertising
  • Meta Is Doing Something It’s Never Done Before. Here’s What It Means for Investors.

    Meta Platforms is one of the main companies driving the AI boom, earning most of its revenue from advertising across its social media apps. In the latest quarter, revenue rose by double digits to $64 billion, and the company said its AI investments are boosting ad revenue, while capital expenditures keep climbing and its 2026 capex range was narrowed to $135 to $145 billion. For the first time, Meta announced a stock split by issuing non-voting Class C shares, giving one to each existing shareholder, which doubles the share count without affecting CEO Mark Zuckerberg's voting power. The article says this gives Meta more flexibility to raise capital, make acquisitions or offer shares to employees. The split will be paid as a dividend on Jan. 19; based on the Oct. 21 closing price of $697, the stock would be worth $348 afterward, though this could change with performance.

    Yahoo Finance·• METAMETAAI investmentadvertising
  • Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Meta Platforms and Pepsi

    Meta Platforms reported revenue of $64.60B, above the $63.33B expected and up 26% year over year, but EPS of $3.83 fell well short of the $5.89 forecast due to one-time charges, including a $2.4 billion legal settlement, restructuring costs and AI infrastructure spending. Ad revenue rose 28% and headcount fell 15%, while free cash flow in Q3 turned negative for the first time since Meta went public in 2012. Meta also plans to issue non-voting shares to fund AI investments without diluting CEO Mark Zuckerberg's control, and narrowed its FY26 CAPEX outlook to $130-$145B. The article argues the negative free cash flow can be viewed with nuance, citing Muse, Meta's agentic AI platform, which reached 10 million setups in one month, with shopping as the top use case and an average purchase above $200.

    Yahoo Finance·• METAMETAearningsartificial intelligence
  • Investors are punishing Big Tech's biggest spenders. Meta is the latest casualty.

    Meta shares fell more than 7% on Thursday, wiping out about $125 billion in market value and erasing the stock's gain for the year. It was on track for its third straight drop of 5% or more the day after earnings, a first since its 2012 IPO. Revenue rose 26% to $64.6 billion, but Meta raised its full-year expense outlook, narrowed capital spending to $135–145 billion, and unveiled nonvoting shares it can sell to raise money. Analyst Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson said Zuckerberg will need to raise both debt and equity, while the cost of insuring Meta's debt climbed to its highest in months. Luria also said Meta is gaining share from Google and its ad sales are growing strongly; the stock has traded roughly between $500 and $800 since mid-2024, and a weekly close above $800 would signal a breakout while a close below $500 would open the door to a deeper slide.

    Yahoo Finance·▼ METAMETAearningsAI investment
  • META Stock In Focus: Morningstar Sees 22% Upside As Meta Muse AI Adoption Boosts Confidence Along With Ad Growth

    Morningstar kept an $850 fair value estimate for Meta, implying 22% upside from the last close, after third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion rose 26% year on year. Strong ad growth and early uptake of the Muse AI agent, which has reached 10 million users since launch, boosted confidence in Meta's AI strategy, though rising infrastructure spending pushed the adjusted operating margin down five percentage points to 35%. Management expects next-quarter revenue to grow between 21% and 27%. Analyst Malik Ahmed Khan said Muse could add income through enterprise AI products, leasing spare computing capacity and fees on agent-led purchases, though long-term contributions remain uncertain. He also warned that heavy AI and Reality Labs spending may not pay off and flagged legal and regulatory risks.

    Yahoo Finance·▲ METAMETAvaluationartificial intelligence

Related markets

US stocks →

Latest news

  • Democrats map out an agenda to address affordability and corruption after midterm sweep

    Newly elected Democratic majorities in the Senate and House plan to pass a flurry of bills soon after taking office in January, focusing on affordability, including high costs for gas and groceries, CNBC reports. In their first 100 hours, House Democrats plan to restore expired enhanced health insurance subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts Trump signed last year, while the party also plans to push a bill undoing his sweeping tariffs and to vote again on ending the Iran war. Democrats are also mapping oversight investigations of Trump, his family, cabinet and business supporters, though Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said targets have not yet been evaluated. Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, pledged to make billionaires pay their fair share of taxes and to scrutinize insurers and pharmaceutical CEOs. Some Democrats are also pushing an ethics package that could ban stock trading by officials and limit super PAC spending.

    CNBC·Democratic Partytariffshealthcare
  • These stocks have soared the most today after the Democrats trounced Trump

    Stanley Black & Decker was the strongest performer in the S&P 500 today. Several tech companies and associated power providers posted sharp declines.

    MarketWatch·▲ QQQ▲ SPYS&P 500Democratic Partytech stocks
  • Is Broadcom Stock a Buy Now?

    Broadcom shares are down 31% from their all-time high and 4% since the start of 2026, hit by a semiconductor sell-off after Intel's disappointing fourth-quarter guidance. Yet the author notes fiscal third-quarter AI semiconductor revenue of $16.7 billion beat the $16 billion target, up 221% year over year, and total revenue reached $29.6 billion, up 86%. Management guided to $21.7 billion in AI semiconductor revenue for the fourth quarter, up 236%. Risks remain, including competition from Google's expanded Marvell partnership, and the stock trades at 28.3 times forward earnings. The author still considers the valuation justified by the results and finds the shares attractive below their peak.

    Yahoo Finance·Broadcomsemiconductorsartificial intelligence
  • Canton Coin Gets SEC Nod as Wall Street Tokenization Heats Up

    The SEC's Division of Corporation Finance said it views Canton Coin as a “digital commodity” and won't recommend enforcement action if validators and application providers mint the token programmatically without registering it. The staff relied on Canton's representations that the token's value comes from network operation and supply and demand, and that the network has no “central party.” Canton launched without an initial coin offering or premine, with tokens earned only by running network infrastructure and applications. The relief arrived a week after DTCC launched a tokenization service on Canton that lets firms convert DTC-held stocks and Treasuries into tokens, and Morgan Stanley said it was among the first banks to use it. The SEC noted the letter reflects only staff's enforcement position, not a legal conclusion, and rests on the facts Canton presented. Digital Asset, which created the Canton Network, raised $355 million earlier this year from Wall Street firms and a sovereign wealth fund.

    Decrypt·▲ BTC/USDTcryptoregulationWall Street
  • Blue Chips Surge Past 2.8% as VIX Drops Below 18 While Oil Sinks Nearly 8%

    In a single session, the Dow jumped 2.87% to a record 53,275.11, the S&P 500 gained 1.74% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.89%, while the VIX fell to 17.08. WTI crude dropped 7.44% to $88.94 a barrel, while gold rose 3.38% to $4,073.40 an ounce and silver gained 5.16%. In earnings news, Amgen reported third-quarter total revenues up 8% to $10.4 billion, and Thomson Reuters' revenues rose 10% to $1,833 million. Agnico Eagle Mines posted quarterly net income of $1,353 million, or $2.67 per share, and returned $478 million to shareholders.

    Yahoo Finance·▲ QQQ▲ SPYS&P 500Dow Jonesoil prices
  • Alphabet (GOOGL) Is Spending $15 Billion On Malaysia Data Centers

    Alphabet (GOOGL) announced a US$15b investment in 2026 to expand Google data centers and AI infrastructure in Malaysia. The expansion includes new cloud facilities meant to serve regional AI demand from enterprise and public sector clients. In a separate development, an Alphabet shareholder sued senior executives, alleging Google's AI models were trained on copyrighted material without proper authorization. The article notes that if courts require tighter controls on training data or raise compliance costs, the AI services built on this infrastructure could face heavier constraints.

    Yahoo Finance·▲ GOOGLGOOGLdata centersartificial intelligence

All news →

Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo

Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.