Meta Platforms (META) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 revenue was $64.601B, up 26%; operating income fell 37% to $12.988B and net income was $9.860B, including a $9.89B legal charge.

• Excluding the legal charge and related tax effect, net income was $19.05B and diluted EPS was $7.40.

• Family daily active people averaged 3.64B in September, up 3% YoY; ad impressions rose 10% and average ad price increased 14%.

• Muse Wonder launched as a frontier model; over 10M people in the U.S. and Canada set up Muse agents in six weeks.

• AI improvements in engagement, recommendations and monetization are generating incremental advertising revenue, alongside substantial infrastructure investment.

Financial highlights

• Q3 revenue was $64.601B versus $51.242B a year earlier; advertising revenue was $63.061B versus $50.082B.

• Costs and expenses rose 68% to $51.61B, including the $9.89B multistate attorneys general agreement charge; excluding the charge, operating income grew 11%.

• Q3 operating income was $12.988B versus $20.535B; net income was $9.860B versus $2.71B, and diluted EPS was $3.83 versus $1.05.

• 9M revenue was $181.71B; operating income was $54.64B and net income was $52.48B.

• Q3 operating cash flow was $32.786B; free cash flow was negative $2.120B, versus $10.625B a year earlier.

Outlook and guidance

• Q4 2026 revenue guidance is $73B-$76B; current exchange rates imply a ~1% headwind to YoY revenue growth.

• FY2026 expenses are expected at $175B-$179B; excluding the Q3 legal charge, operating income is expected to exceed FY2025.

• FY2026 CapEx guidance is $135B-$145B, including finance lease principal payments; Q4 tax rate outlook is 15%-17%, absent tax landscape changes.

• Reality Labs losses are expected at $18B-$19B in 2026 and ~ $15B next year; strong overall revenue growth is expected through 2027.

• Muse compute efficiency is targeted to improve more than 10x over the next year, while serving costs are expected to rise as its user base expands.