Meta Platforms Third-Quarter Results Rise; Issues Strong Revenue Outlook

07:04 AM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Meta Platforms (META) reported higher third-quarter results year over year despite a nearly $10 billion litigation-related charge, while the technology giant issued a strong revenue outlook at the midpoint for the fourth quarter. The Facebook parent's net income was $3.83 per share for the September quarter, up from $1.05 the year before, it said late Wednesday. The consensus on FactSet was for $6.54. The result included a $9.89 billion charge related to the company's August settlement to pay up to $18.59 billion to resolve litigation brought by several US states over teen mental health and social media, Meta said. Excluding that charge, the company's EPS would have increased to $7.40. Separately on Wednesday, a judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion after a jury found the company liable for misleading Facebook users about its privacy policies, Reuters reported. Meta, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, saw revenue climb 26% to $64.6 billion in the third quarter, topping the Street's view of $63.34 billion. For the current quarter, the tech giant expects revenue between $73 billion and $76 billion, compared with the average analyst estimate of $74.27 billion. Shares of the company fell 1.3% in the most recent premarket activity. The stock has gained 5.7% so far this year. Advertising revenue in the third quarter advanced to $63.06 billion from $50.08 billion. Daily active users for Meta's family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, rose 3% year over year to an average of 3.64 billion for September. Last month, Meta launched its Muse artificial intelligence agent to help users complete tasks and pursue goals. During a late Wednesday conference call, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the company is now focused on scaling the offering and expects to expand it to "billions of people," according to a transcript. "From a business perspective, the average revenue per American user for our existing family of apps users is several hundreds of dollars annually, and we expect that Muse will reach an even higher level over time due to the amount of commerce that we already see taking place," Zuckerberg said on the call. In a September client note, Wedbush Securities said Muse represented progress in Meta's artificial intelligence strategy, but it was unlikely to offer a "material" financial boost in the near term. For 2026, Meta now expects capital expenditures to be in a range of $135 billion to $145 billion, reflecting a higher bottom end versus the previous guidance of $130 billion. Expenses are now pegged at $175 billion to $179 billion for the year, up from prior projections of $165 billion to $169 billion, reflecting the litigation charge recorded in the third quarter. "Looking beyond 2026, we are still developing our budget and capacity plans for next year, but we expect to continue investing aggressively to support both our core business and emerging AI initiatives," Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said. "Our AI investments are already delivering substantial incremental advertising revenue through stronger engagement, better recommendations, and more efficient monetization." Meanwhile, the company's board approved the establishment of a new class of publicly listed, non-voting Class C stock, effective Jan. 19, 2027. The company also entered into an agreement under which Zuckerberg committed to remain a California resident, where Meta is headquartered, for eight years after considering a move out of the state due to a proposed wealth tax, according to a Wednesday regulatory filing. Under the agreement, Zuckerberg can sell 20% of the newly created Class C shares he receives without a corresponding reduction in his voting power, according to the filing. Tech giants Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) report their latest financial results later this month, while chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) and iPhone maker Apple (AAPL) post their earnings in November.