Meta

Financial disclosures

Q3 2026 (quarter ended Sept 30, 2026) — reported Oct 21, 2026 · As of Oct 28, 2026

Meta's third-quarter 2026 results told two stories at once: a core advertising business running at full strength, and a bottom line scrambled by a massive legal-settlement charge. Total revenue climbed 26% year over year to $64.60 billion, beating Wall Street's consensus, led by Family of Apps advertising revenue of $63.06 billion. Daily active people across Meta's apps averaged 3.64 billion in September, up 3% year over year.

GAAP net income was $9.86 billion, up 264% from a year earlier, but diluted EPS of $3.83 badly undershot the roughly $6.67 analysts had expected, because Meta booked a $9.89 billion charge tied to an August 2026 settlement with 52 state attorneys general over allegations its platforms were designed to be addictive to teenagers (part of a broader settlement that could total up to $18.6 billion). Excluding that charge, diluted EPS would have been $7.40, topping estimates. Separately — and not part of this charge — a New Mexico court ordered a $25 billion data-privacy penalty against Meta, which it is appealing; that remains an open risk, not a booked Q3 item. Reality Labs continued to narrow its losses: $443 million in revenue against a $4.13 billion operating loss, improved from $4.43 billion a year earlier.

As with Alphabet, capex dominated the quarter's commentary: Meta spent $34.91 billion in the quarter and narrowed full-year 2026 capex guidance to $135–145 billion, reflecting continued heavy AI-infrastructure build-out. For Q4 2026, Meta guided revenue to $73–76 billion, and management said it still expects full-year operating income to exceed 2025's level once the legal charge is excluded.

Key figures

Source: SEC 8-K, Exhibit 99.1 (Meta earnings release)