Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq ticker: META) announced its quarterly financial results for the period ending September 30, 2026, today.

Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated: "This quarter, we have achieved a major milestone in making personal superintelligence accessible to everyone – including the launch of Muse and Muse Wonder, our first cutting-edge models. Our investments are paying off, our core business remains strong, and we see all our businesses accelerating."

Financial Highlights for the Third Quarter of 2026

Reconciliation with the United States Attorneys General

Meta indicates that in August 2026, the company announced an agreement with 52 attorneys general to resolve lawsuits related to adolescent mental health and social media, involving payments of approximately $18.59 billion. The costs and expenses for the third quarter of 2026 included $9.89 billion related to this agreement. Excluding this expense, for the third quarter of 2026:

• Revenue was expected to be $22.88 billion, but actually it was only $12.99 billion;
• The diluted earnings per share will be $7.40, whereas the actual figure is $3.83;
• The effective tax rate will be 17%, whereas the actual rate is 24%.

Key operational and financial highlights for the third quarter of 2026

• Average number of active users on Family Day ( DAP ) —— 3.64 billion in September 2026, a year-on-year increase of 3%.
• Ad impressions – The ad impressions for Family, of, and Apps increased by 10% year-on-year.
• Average price per ad: a year-on-year increase of 14%.
• Revenues amounted to $64.6 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 26% both when measured by the reported figures and at a fixed exchange rate.
• Costs and expenses — totaling $51.61 billion, a year-on-year increase of 68%. This includes the litigation costs mentioned above.
• Capital expenditure, including payments on the principal of finance leases, amounted to 34.91 billion US dollars.
• Capital return plan – Dividends and dividend-equivalent payments amount to $1.36 billion.
• Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities — amounted to $82.45 billion as of September 30, 2026.
• Cash flow – Cash flow from operating activities amounted to $32.79 billion, while free cash flow was negative at $2.12 billion.
• Number of employees — as of September 30, 2026, it was 66,775 people, a year-on-year decrease of 15%.

Comment from the Chief Financial Officer on the Prospects

The company expects its total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2026 to be between $73 billion and $76 billion. This guidance assumes that, at current exchange rates, foreign exchange will have a negative impact of about 1% on year-over-year total revenue growth.

The company has raised its expense forecast to account for $9.9 billion in expenses related to legal proceedings recognized in the third quarter. The company currently expects total expenses for the full year of 2026 to be between $175 billion and $179 billion.

Even if the legal expenses for the third quarter are not taken into account, the company still expects its revenue for 2026 to be higher than that of 2025.

By business segment, the company currently expects that the loss of Reality Labs will decrease compared to 2025, with a range of $18 billion to $19 billion.

The company expects capital expenditures in 2026 (including payments on the principal of finance leases) to be between $135 billion and $145 billion, which is a narrowing from the previous forecast range of $130 billion to $145 billion.

In the absence of changes in the tax environment, the company expects the tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2026 to be between 15% and 17%.

In addition, the company continues to pay attention to active legal and regulatory matters that may have a significant impact on its business and financial results. For example, the company is still facing reviews related to issues concerning teenagers in multiple markets, and has scheduled several court hearings related to teenagers in the United States for the coming months.

Looking ahead to beyond 2026, the company is still formulating its budget and production capacity plans for next year, but it is expected to continue to make active investments to support its core business and emerging AI projects. The company's current production capacity, as well as the capacity that has been scheduled to go online, allows it to flexibly allocate resources among model training, core business growth, and the development and support of new products.

The company stated that its AI investment has resulted in considerable additional advertising revenue through greater user engagement, better recommendations, and more efficient monetization. On this basis, the MSL investment is focused on building the necessary technology and infrastructure to unlock significant new revenue opportunities and enhance the overall capabilities of the business. The company noted that although it will take longer for these investments to yield returns compared to core business investments, the breadth of monetization opportunities and the improvement in internal efficiency give the company confidence in their long-term potential.

Looking to the future, although the company has not provided a forecast for its annual revenue for 2027, the returns generated by its AI investments in core businesses, combined with the new opportunities brought about by model advancements and product releases, should enable the company to maintain strong overall revenue growth in 2027.

In addition, the company continues to focus on enhancing the profitability of Reality Labs. It is expected that as investments are reallocated to other priority areas, mainly AI, losses will be reduced to approximately $15 billion next year.

Establish new Class C ordinary shares

The board of directors has approved the establishment of a new class of publicly traded C shares without voting rights, effective from January 2027.

With the approval of the Board of Directors, based on the unanimous recommendation of a special committee composed of independent directors with no conflicts of interest, this new class of shares has been established. The special committee, established by the Board of Directors, is responsible for evaluating the company's capital structure. Both the special committee and the Board of Directors believe that the creation of this new class of shares is advisable, fair, and in the best interests of Meta and its shareholders, for the following reasons:

• Create new share classes for financing, employee compensation, potential acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes – In the context of the transformation of industry AI, the scale of investment required to compete, maintain growth, expand infrastructure, and advance new strategic initiatives is enormous. The special committee believes that this new class of common shares will provide Meta with the ability to finance growth and help the company remain ahead in the fierce competition both domestically and internationally.
• Continuing to maximize long-term value for all shareholders – Since the establishment of Meta, the management team has always prioritized long-term goals and value creation. Since IPO, the stock price has risen by more than 1700%. In contrast, during the same period, the S&P 500 index has risen by about 495%. The special committee hopes that Meta will continue to focus on long-term growth and drive innovation, and the introduction of Class C shares is precisely to help achieve this goal.
• Ensuring that founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to lead Meta into the next era – The special committee believes that Zuckerberg is best suited to lead Meta into the next phase and beyond. The committee recognizes that the significant value created for shareholders by Meta is largely due to his strong leadership, unique and creative vision, as well as his outstanding management skills. The establishment of Class C common stock will continue the founder-led model that has driven the company's success since its inception.

Meta plans to submit a revised and restated articles of association to the State of Delaware in order to establish Class C common stock, effective from January 19, 2027. The board of directors also announced a one-time stock dividend: after the revised and restated articles of association come into effect, one share of Class C common stock will be distributed for each share of issued Class A and Class B common stock, subject to the effective date of these articles of association, and the payment will be made after they take effect.

The record date and payment date for stock dividends will be determined by the board of directors at a later time. After the payment of the stock dividends, the company expects that the market price of Class A common shares will reflect the effect of the 2-for-1 stock split. This stock dividend will not change the voting rights of any shareholders.

The revised and restated articles of association have been approved in writing by the shareholders. The company has also signed a founder consistency agreement with Zuckerberg, which includes terms related to the sale of Class C common shares obtained through stock dividends, his tenure in the company, and the conditions for future possible distribution of Class C common share dividends.

The Class A common stocks of Meta will continue to trade on NASDAQ. The company plans to make the Class C common stocks meet the listing requirements on NASDAQ after the issuance of stock dividends. More information will be available in the 8-K report and prospectus submitted by the company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Moelis and Company LLC serve as independent financial advisors to the special committee, while Morgan Stanley acts as the financial advisor to Meta.

Online live streaming and teleconference arrangements

Meta will hold a teleconference at 1:30 PM Pacific Time / 4:30 PM Eastern Time today to discuss financial results. The live broadcast of the teleconference can be accessed at Meta, the investor relations website of investor.atmeta.com. Additionally, you can view the company's financial report press release, financial statements, and presentation there.

After the teleconference, a replay will be available on the same website. The transcript of the teleconference held with equity research analysts on that day will also be published on the investor.atmeta.com website.

Disclosure of Information

Uses websites such as investor.atmeta.com and meta.com, as well as Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook homepage (facebook.com / zuck), Instagram account (instagram.com / zuck), and Threads homepage (threads.net / zuck), as channels for disclosing significant non-public information and for fulfilling the disclosure obligations stipulated by Regulation FD.

About Meta

Meta is building a future of human connection with the help of artificial intelligence and immersive technology. Facebook changed the way people connected with each other when it was launched in 2004. Applications such as Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp have further empowered billions of people around the world. Today, Meta is moving towards creating a deeper level of connection and unlocking new possibilities for users.

Contact Person

Investor: Rob Bevegni, [ email protected ] / investor.atmeta.com

Media: Matt Tye, [ email protected ] / meta.com / news

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company's future business plans and expectations. These forward-looking statements are merely predictions and may differ significantly from actual results due to various factors, including: the impact of macroeconomic conditions on the company's business and financial results, including effects from geopolitical events; the company's ability to retain or increase users and engagement; the company's dependence on advertising revenue; the company's reliance on data signals, mobile operating systems, networks, and standards over which it has no control; changes in third-party policies or their scope of application that affect the company's advertising practices; risks associated with new products and changes to existing products, as well as other new business initiatives, including efforts related to artificial intelligence projects and Reality Labs; the company's emphasis on community growth and engagement as well as user experience rather than short-term financial results; maintaining and enhancing the brand and reputation; ongoing efforts in privacy, security, content, and advertising review, as well as compliance with regulations; competition; risks related to government actions that may limit users' access to the company's products or hinder the company's ability to sell advertisements in certain countries; litigation and government investigations; concerns or developments regarding privacy, legislation, and regulation; risks related to acquisitions; security vulnerabilities; the company's management capacity and the ability to operate across a geographically dispersed base; and market conditions or other factors that affect the return of capital to shareholders. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from predicted results are described in more detail in the "Risk Factors" section of the company's 10-Q quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 30, 2026, which is available on the company's investor relations website investor.atmeta.com and on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's website www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the quarter ended September 30, 2026, will also be included in the company's 10-Q quarterly report.In addition, please note that this press release was issued on October 21, 2026, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that the company deems reasonable as of that date. The company assumes no obligation to update these statements due to new information or future events.

For discussions regarding the limitations of certain community metric measurements, please refer to the section titled "Limitations of Key Metrics and Other Data" in the company's most recent quarterly or annual reports submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Non-GAAP financial indicators

To complement the concise consolidated financial statements prepared and presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the company uses the following non-GAAP financial indicators: revenue excluding the impact of exchange rates, advertising revenue excluding the impact of exchange rates, and free cash flow. The presentation of these financial indicators is not intended for use alone, nor are they intended to replace or be superior to the financial information presented under GAAP. Investors should be aware that there are significant limitations to using non-GAAP financial indicators as analysis tools. Furthermore, these indicators may differ from those used by other companies, hence their comparability is limited. The company compensates for these limitations by providing specific information on the amounts excluded from these non-GAAP financial indicators.

The company believes that these non-GAAP financial indicators can provide investors with useful supplementary information regarding the company's operating performance, facilitate the comparison of financial results over different periods when certain items are independent of changes in business performance, and enhance transparency regarding the key indicators used by management to operate the business.

The company has made adjustments to the following items for its non-GAAP financial indicators:

The impact of foreign exchange on revenue. In order to calculate revenue using a fixed exchange rate, the company converts the revenue for the current period into non-US dollar settlement or billing currencies using the exchange rates of the previous year for each month. The company believes this to be a useful indicator that facilitates comparison with historical performance.

Purchasing properties and equipment; payment of the principal amount of financial leases. The company deducts the costs of purchasing properties and equipment, as well as the payments on the principal of financial leases, when calculating free cash flow. This is because the company believes that these two items together represent the total amount incurred for acquiring the properties and equipment necessary to support its operations, regardless of whether they are obtained through financial leasing or other means. The company believes that this approach provides investors with useful supplementary information that helps them better understand the underlying trends of the business. Free cash flow is not intended to represent the remaining cash flow that is available for discretionary expenditures.

For more information on the company's financial indicators other than GAAP, as well as the adjustments to GAAP and non-GAAP indicators, please refer to the "Adjustments to GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" table in this press release.

Branch Performance

The two reportable segments identified in the company's report are Family, of, Apps ( FoA ), and Reality Labs ( RL ). FoA includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and other services. RL encompasses consumer-grade hardware, software, and content related to virtual reality and augmented reality.

The following table shows the revenue and operating income (loss) information for each division: