Meta Platforms’ third-quarter revenue rose 26% to $64.6 billion on stronger advertising demand, higher engagement and AI-driven improvements, with ad impressions up 10% and the average price per ad up 14%. Expenses jumped 68% to $51.6 billion, including a $9.9 billion charge tied to an August 2026 agreement with multiple state attorneys general, pulling GAAP operating income down 37% to $13 billion. Excluding the legal charge, CFO Susan Li said operating income would have risen 11% year over year, while capital expenditures of $34.9 billion pushed free cash flow to negative $2.1 billion. Meta forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion and announced a two-for-one stock split expected to begin trading in late January 2027. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said more than 10 million people in the U.S. and Canada had set up its Muse AI agent in roughly six weeks, with shopping the most common use case.
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Related tickers and likely impact
META
▲ Likely positiveMeta Platforms
Relevance: high
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Interactive Media & Services |
| Market cap | $1.9T |
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 698.43 |
| Change that session | +0.60% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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