Meta Q3 2026 Earnings: Its Ads No Longer Pay for the AI Build on Their Own
Meta paid $33.94 billion for data centers and equipment in the third quarter of 2026, not counting leased gear, more than its business brought in, a first since 2012. The ads no longer cover the AI build alone, and Meta is drawing on savings, debt and long leases while creating a share class with no vote.
The short answer. Meta's ad sales still grew 26%, but its AI build now takes more cash than its business brings in, a first since 2012 in StockTitan's data. Even a rich ad business now funds the AI race partly with savings, borrowing and about $347 billion of long leases, and Meta has bought back no shares this year. Meta will also give every holder a new share with no vote for each one they own, which it says it can use to raise money.
Meta in the third quarter of 2026
On this page
- Meta Q3 2026 earnings: revenue, profit and users
- Did Meta beat its own revenue forecast for Q3 2026?
- Can Meta's ads still pay for its AI spending?
- Did Meta change its 2026 capex guidance?
- How is Meta paying for its data centers?
- What is Meta's new Class C stock?
- How much did the teen safety settlement cost Meta?
- How much money is Meta Reality Labs losing?
- What did Meta forecast for the fourth quarter?
- How we counted
- Frequently asked questions
Meta Q3 2026 earnings: revenue, profit and users
Meta sold 26% more advertising and other services than a year earlier. Without the one-time items in both years, profit per share grew only about 2%, because costs grew faster than sales.
Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, reported revenue of $64.60 billion for the third quarter of 2026 on October 21 (Meta's results release on StockTitan). Advertising brought in $63.06 billion of it.
Meta showed more ads than a year earlier and charged more for each one, and its apps reached more people every day. The data panel below has those figures.
Profit per share, which Meta reports as diluted earnings per share, was $3.83, against $1.05 a year earlier. Both quarters carry a large one-time item, so the reported jump says little.
Without them, by Meta's own figures, profit per share was $7.40, against $7.25 a year earlier (Meta's third quarter 2025 release). That is growth of about 2%, by our calculation, in a quarter when sales grew 26%.
Costs rose 68%, and operating margin, the share of sales left after running costs, fell to 20% from 40%. Much of that came from a $9.89 billion charge for Meta's teen safety settlement with state attorneys general.
Without that charge, costs rose about 36% and the margin was about 35%, by our calculation from Meta's figures, still below a year earlier.
| Meta, Q3 2026 | Q3 2026 | A year earlier | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $64.60 billion | $51.24 billion | +26% |
| Advertising revenue | $63.06 billion | $50.08 billion | +26% |
| Ad impressions | +10% | ||
| Average price per ad | +14% | ||
| Daily active people, September 2026 | 3.64 billion | +3% | |
| Total costs and expenses | $51.61 billion | $30.71 billion | +68% |
| Income from operations | $12.99 billion | $20.54 billion | -37% |
| Operating margin | 20% | 40% | |
| Net income | $9.86 billion | $2.71 billion | +264% |
| Diluted earnings per share | $3.83 | $1.05 | +265% |
| Family of Apps revenue | $64.16 billion | $50.77 billion | |
| Family of Apps operating income | $17.12 billion | $24.97 billion | |
| Reality Labs revenue | $443 million | $470 million | |
| Reality Labs operating loss | $4.13 billion | $4.43 billion | |
| Cash from operations | $32.79 billion | $30.00 billion | |
| Capital expenditures, including finance lease principal | $34.91 billion | $19.37 billion | |
| Free cash flow | minus $2.12 billion | $10.63 billion | |
| Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, end of quarter | $82.45 billion | ||
| Long-term debt, end of quarter | $80.92 billion | ||
| Headcount, end of quarter | 66,775 | -15% |
Net income and profit per share compare two quarters with one-time items: a $9.89 billion legal charge in 2026 and a $15.93 billion tax charge in 2025. Source: Meta Q3 2026 results release, October 21, 2026; free cash flow is a measure Meta defines itself.
Did Meta beat its own revenue forecast for Q3 2026?
Yes. Revenue landed above the top of the range Meta gave in July. It has not finished below the middle of its own forecast in any of the last 10 quarters.
Revenue of $64.60 billion beat the $61 billion to $64 billion range from Meta's July release (Meta's previous results release). That test uses Meta's own forecast; analysts' estimates differ by provider.
Over the 10 quarters from Q2 2024 to Q3 2026, revenue topped the high end of Meta's range 7 times, by StockTitan's count of Meta's releases. In the other 3, it landed inside the range.
Show the data
| Item | Low | High | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2024 | $36.5B | $39.0B | $39.1B |
| Q3 2024 | $38.5B | $41.0B | $40.6B |
| Q4 2024 | $45.0B | $48.0B | $48.4B |
| Q1 2025 | $39.5B | $41.8B | $42.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $42.5B | $45.5B | $47.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $47.5B | $50.5B | $51.2B |
| Q4 2025 | $56.0B | $59.0B | $59.9B |
| Q1 2026 | $53.5B | $56.5B | $56.3B |
| Q2 2026 | $58.0B | $61.0B | $60.8B |
| Q3 2026 | $61.0B | $64.0B | $64.6B |
| Quarter | Meta's range ($ billions) | Revenue ($ billions) | Where it landed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 2024 | 36.5 to 39 | 39.07 | above the range |
| Q3 2024 | 38.5 to 41 | 40.59 | upper half |
| Q4 2024 | 45 to 48 | 48.38 | above the range |
| Q1 2025 | 39.5 to 41.8 | 42.31 | above the range |
| Q2 2025 | 42.5 to 45.5 | 47.52 | above the range |
| Q3 2025 | 47.5 to 50.5 | 51.24 | above the range |
| Q4 2025 | 56 to 59 | 59.89 | above the range |
| Q1 2026 | 53.5 to 56.5 | 56.31 | upper half |
| Q2 2026 | 58 to 61 | 60.80 | upper half |
| Q3 2026 | 61 to 64 | 64.60 | above the range |
Source: the outlook in each Meta results release and the revenue in the next one, from Meta's releases on StockTitan; the 10 quarters the text counts.
Can Meta's ads still pay for its AI spending?
Not on their own anymore. Meta spent $34.91 billion on its build in the quarter, about $2 billion more than the cash its whole business brought in.
Capital expenditures, or capex, is money spent on things that last for years: data center buildings, the servers and chips inside them, and the network that links them. Meta's quarterly report says the money is going "as we continued to invest in servers, data centers, and network infrastructure" (Meta 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026).
Of the $34.91 billion, $33.94 billion paid for property and equipment outright and $964 million went to equipment Meta leases.
Cash from operations, the money the business itself brought in after paying its running costs, was $32.79 billion. The $34.91 billion is the most Meta has ever spent on equipment in a single quarter.
Show the data
| Category | Cash from operations | Capital expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2024 | $19.2B | $6.7B |
| Q2 2024 | $19.4B | $8.5B |
| Q3 2024 | $24.7B | $9.2B |
| Q4 2024 | $28.0B | $14.8B |
| Q1 2025 | $24.0B | $13.7B |
| Q2 2025 | $25.6B | $17.0B |
| Q3 2025 | $30.0B | $19.4B |
| Q4 2025 | $36.2B | $22.1B |
| Q1 2026 | $32.2B | $19.8B |
| Q2 2026 | $31.9B | $31.1B |
| Q3 2026 | $32.8B | $34.9B |
For most of 2024 the two lines sat far apart. The gap between them was money Meta used for buybacks, dividends and savings, and the chart shows it closing as the build grew.
In July, Meta's finance chief, Susan Li, said on a call with analysts: "I think for now, again, our operating cash flow is really the primary pillar by which we are financing all of our ambitions." (Meta's follow-up call transcript, second quarter 2026). She also pointed to bond sales and data center partnerships. By our reading, one quarter later that pillar no longer covered the whole build by itself.
Research and development, the engineers and computing behind Meta's AI work, reached $20.05 billion, against $15.14 billion a year earlier.
Meta ended the quarter with 66,775 employees, 15% fewer than a year earlier, while its spending on data centers and equipment rose 80%. By our reading, the trade is fewer people and more machines.
Mark Zuckerberg, its chief executive, said in the release: "Our investments are paying off, the core business is strong". The test so far: ad sales rose 26%, while profit per share before one-time items rose about 2%.
Show the data
| Step | Value |
|---|---|
| Cash from operations | $32.79B |
| Property and equipment | -$33.94B |
| Finance lease payments | -$0.96B |
| Free cash flow | -$2.12B |
Free cash flow, the cash left after paying for equipment and leased equipment, was minus $2.12 billion, against $10.63 billion a year earlier. It is the lowest in the 11 quarters charted below.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Q1 2024 | $12.53B |
| Q2 2024 | $10.90B |
| Q3 2024 | $15.52B |
| Q4 2024 | $13.15B |
| Q1 2025 | $10.33B |
| Q2 2025 | $8.55B |
| Q3 2025 | $10.63B |
| Q4 2025 | $14.08B |
| Q1 2026 | $12.39B |
| Q2 2026 | $0.78B |
| Q3 2026 | -$2.12B |
We checked StockTitan's fundamentals data, which holds every Meta quarter back to 2011, on a simpler basis: cash from operations minus purchases of property and equipment alone. This quarter that came to minus $1.16 billion.
The only earlier quarters below zero on that basis were the first two quarters of 2012, around the time Facebook went public in May 2012.
Amazon and Alphabet crossed this line first. In April to June their equipment spending equaled 119% and 115% of their cash from operations, by our calculation from their results. Microsoft, at 65%, had not crossed it, and Meta's reached 104% in July to September.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Amazon | 119% |
| Alphabet | 115% |
| Meta | 95% |
| Microsoft | 65% |
Did Meta change its 2026 capex guidance?
Meta narrowed its 2026 plan to $135 billion to $145 billion. Reaching even the low end means spending more in the last quarter than in any quarter so far.
Meta's outlook commentary in the release reads: "We anticipate 2026 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, to be in the range of $135-145 billion, narrowed from our prior outlook of $130-145 billion."
The bottom of the range went up by $5 billion, so the least Meta now plans to spend is higher than it was in July.
Meta has spent $85.8 billion so far this year, by our sum of its quarterly figures. Landing at the low end would take about $49.2 billion more in the last quarter, and the high end about $59.2 billion.
Show the data
| Item | Low | High | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| April outlook | $125.0B | $145.0B | $19.8B |
| July outlook | $130.0B | $145.0B | $50.9B |
| October outlook | $135.0B | $145.0B | $85.8B |
The plan has moved before. In January Meta expected $115 billion to $135 billion.
It raised that to $125 billion to $145 billion in April, then to $130 billion to $145 billion in July.
For comparison, Meta spent $72.22 billion in all of 2025, by its own count (Meta's fourth quarter 2025 release).
On next year, the release says: "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." It gives no capex figure for 2027 yet.
How is Meta paying for its data centers?
With the cash its business brings in, plus its savings, borrowed money and leases it pays off over many years. The new share class adds another option.
Its savings shrank. Cash and marketable securities, meaning cash plus investments Meta can turn into cash quickly, fell to $82.45 billion from $90.26 billion at the end of June (Meta's second quarter release).
It borrowed $24.91 billion in the first nine months of 2026, all of it in the second quarter, according to its cash flow statement. That was a $25 billion bond sale completed on May 4, with repayment dates from 2031 to 2066 (Meta's 8-K of May 4, 2026).
Long-term debt stood at $80.92 billion at the end of September, against $58.74 billion at the end of 2025.
Meta has bought back no shares in 2026, after spending $26.25 billion on them in the first nine months of 2025. It still paid $1.36 billion in dividends in the quarter.
Meta has also signed leases that have not started. As of June 30, it had signed leases worth about $278.99 billion that had not started yet (Meta's 10-Q). They cover data centers, space it rents inside data centers run by others, and network gear.
In July it signed about $68 billion more, starting in 2027 and 2028. Together that is about $347 billion by our sum, roughly 1.4 times a year of Meta's revenue, though it is paid over terms of up to 30 years.
What is Meta's new Class C stock?
It is a new kind of Meta share that carries no vote. Every shareholder will get one for each share they already own, and Meta says it can later use the class to raise money, pay staff or buy companies.
What holders get. Each Class A and Class B share will receive one Class C share as a stock dividend, a payout in shares instead of cash (Meta's results release on StockTitan). Someone holding 10 Class A shares would end up with 10 Class A and 10 Class C shares.
Meta says it expects the Class A price to reflect the effect of a two-for-one stock split. In plain terms, each Class A share would stand for half as much ownership as before, because the share count doubles, while its vote stays the same.
How the votes work today. A Class A share, the kind traded on Nasdaq, has one vote, and a Class B share has ten. Holders of Class B, including Mr. Zuckerberg, hold most of the votes, according to Meta's 10-Q.
Why Meta says it needs it. Under a heading on raising capital, the release says: "The scale of investment required to compete, sustain growth, expand infrastructure, and pursue new strategic initiatives amidst the AI transformation taking place in the industry is significant." In plain terms, Meta is saying the AI build is expensive, and the special committee says the new class gives Meta "the ability to finance its growth".
Why control stays put. The release also ties the move to keeping Mr. Zuckerberg in charge. A special committee of independent directors concluded that he "is best suited to lead Meta into its next era and beyond."
By our reading, that is the point of a share with no vote. Meta could sell Class C shares for cash, or pay employees in them, without adding votes, which would leave voting control where it is.
Who approved it. Meta says the change was approved by shareholder written consent, which means holders with enough votes signed off in writing instead of voting at a meeting.
Meta also signed a Founder Alignment Agreement with Mr. Zuckerberg. The release says it sets terms on his sales of the Class C shares he receives, his service at the company, and conditions for any future Class C stock dividends.
When. Meta plans to file the change in Delaware with an effective date of January 19, 2027 (Meta's results release). The board will set the record date, the day that decides who gets the new shares, and the payment date later.
The question was already in the air. On the July call, an analyst at Truist Securities asked whether Meta would consider using stock to fund the build. Ms. Li said Meta would weigh every financing option as it planned for 2027 (Meta's follow-up call transcript). By our reading, the new share class is that option.
How much did the teen safety settlement cost Meta?
Meta booked a $9.89 billion charge for its agreement with state attorneys general over teen mental health. Without it, profit per share would have been about twice as high.
The agreement, with 52 attorneys general, provides for payments of up to about $18.59 billion, the release says. Profit per share was $3.83 with the charge and $7.40 without it, by Meta's own figures.
The agreement also changes the apps. Meta's August 26 announcement lists a default two-hour daily limit for teens and a default block of its apps from midnight to 6 a.m. (Meta's announcement on StockTitan). Both await court approval.
More cases are coming. In the release, Meta says it has "a number of youth-related trials scheduled in the coming months in the U.S." Its July quarterly report said the next two bellwether trials, early cases that help set a pattern for others, were set to begin on October 28, 2026.
How much money is Meta Reality Labs losing?
Reality Labs, the unit behind Meta's smart glasses and virtual reality headsets, lost $4.13 billion in the quarter. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger together earned $17.12 billion.
Reality Labs brought in $443 million of revenue, against $470 million a year earlier. Its loss so far in 2026 is $12.78 billion, by Meta's nine-month figure.
Meta now expects the unit to lose $18 billion to $19 billion in 2026. That implies a fourth quarter loss of about $5.2 billion to $6.2 billion, by our calculation.
For 2027 Meta expects a loss of around $15 billion, "as we reallocate investment toward other priority areas, primarily AI," the release says.
What did Meta forecast for the fourth quarter?
Meta expects $73 billion to $76 billion of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2026.
At the middle of that range, sales would be about 24% higher than a year earlier, by our calculation.
Meta expects currency moves to shave about 1 point off that growth, which it calls a headwind. A stronger dollar makes sales abroad worth fewer dollars.
It raised its full-year cost forecast by $10 billion at both ends, to $175 billion to $179 billion. Meta says the rise reflects the $9.9 billion legal charge.
Without that charge, Meta still expects 2026 operating income to beat 2025's. It expects a tax rate of 15% to 17% in the fourth quarter.
The forecast brings the story back to cash. Even at the low end, the $49.2 billion Meta would still spend in the last quarter, by our calculation, is more than Meta has spent in any quarter so far.
Two dates come next. Meta's July report set the next teen trials for October 28 (Meta's 10-Q), and the new share class is set to take effect on January 19, 2027 (Meta's results release).
How we counted
Every Meta figure comes from Meta's third quarter 2026 results release unless another source is named. Capital expenditures and free cash flow use Meta's own definitions, which include principal payments on finance leases. Growth rates compare the third quarter with the third quarter of 2025.
The 2012 comparison uses StockTitan's fundamentals data for Meta, 61 quarters from the second quarter of 2011, on a simpler basis: cash from operations minus purchases of property and equipment. Finance leases are left out because older filings report them differently.
The lease total adds the $278.99 billion and about $68 billion in Meta's 10-Q. It is compared with $241.61 billion, Meta's reported revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first three quarters of 2026. Profit per share growth without one-time items compares Meta's $7.40 with its $7.25 a year earlier; costs and margin without the charge subtract $9.89 billion from Meta's reported costs. The spending still needed subtracts our sum of Meta's 2026 quarterly capital expenditures from each end of its range. The Reality Labs fourth-quarter figure subtracts the nine-month loss from each end of Meta's full-year range.
The peer comparison divides each company's purchases of property and equipment by its cash from operations for the three months ended June 30, 2026. Microsoft calls the line additions to property and equipment. Each figure comes from the company's own results release, and finance leases are left out for all four.
Frequently asked questions
Is Meta doing a stock split?
Not as a formal split. Meta will give one new Class C share, which carries no vote, for each Class A and Class B share. It says it expects the Class A price to reflect the effect of a two-for-one split after the payment date, which the board has not set yet.
What is Meta Class C stock?
A new Meta share with no vote, set to take effect on January 19, 2027. Meta says it can use the class for raising capital, paying employees and acquisitions, and that the founder-led model continues.
Is Meta's free cash flow negative?
Yes. In the third quarter of 2026 Meta's free cash flow was minus $2.12 billion, against $10.63 billion a year earlier, on Meta's own definition.
How much is Meta spending on data centers and equipment in 2026?
Meta expects $135 billion to $145 billion of capital expenditures in 2026, including finance lease payments, and has spent $85.8 billion so far by our sum.
Did Meta beat its revenue forecast in Q3 2026?
Yes. Revenue of $64.60 billion came in above the $61 billion to $64 billion range Meta gave in July.
Where can I read Meta's Q3 2026 earnings release?
Meta posts it on its investor relations site. StockTitan carries the full text with the financial tables on its META news page, beside the overview and financials pages for META.
Sources
- StockTitan: Meta Platforms (META) overview
- StockTitan: Meta Platforms financials
- StockTitan: Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
- StockTitan: Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
- StockTitan: Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
- StockTitan: Meta Reports Third Quarter 2025 Results
- StockTitan: Meta's agreement with bipartisan attorneys general
- StockTitan: Free cash flow, definition and formula
- StockTitan: Capital expenditures versus operating expenses
- Meta investor relations: Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results (release PDF)
- Meta Q3 2026 results, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1 (SEC)
- Meta investor relations: second quarter 2026 follow-up call transcript
- Meta quarterly report on Form 10-Q, quarter ended June 30, 2026 (SEC)
- Meta Form 8-K of May 4, 2026, senior notes (SEC)
- Amazon second quarter 2026 results, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1 (SEC)
- Alphabet second quarter 2026 results, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1 (SEC)
- Microsoft fiscal fourth quarter 2026 results, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1 (SEC)
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