Meta Platforms, Inc.

META · Nasdaq · ·

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$641.87+2.9%Nov 13 close

Figures through September 30, 2026, from the 10-Q filed October 22, 2026

1W: +5.2%
1M: -12.9%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) latest earnings — what was reported — InspectStocks

Meta Platforms, Inc.

META · Nasdaq · ·

Compare

$641.87+2.9%Nov 13 close

Figures through September 30, 2026, from the 10-Q filed October 22, 2026

1W: +5.2%
1M: -12.9%

What Meta Platforms, Inc. reported on October 21, 2026

The quarter ending September 30, 2026, against the same quarter a year earlier.

What Meta Platforms, Inc. expects

Meta Platforms, Inc.’s own guidance, from its results release of October 21, 2026. It is the company’s statement of what it expects, not a forecast of ours.

Fiscal Q4 2026 · ending around December 2026

Revenue: $73B to $76B
Tax rate: 15.0% to 17.0%

Fiscal year 2026 · ending around December 2026

Operating expenses: $175B to $179B

The quarter just reported, against its guidance

In its release of July 29, 2026, Meta Platforms, Inc. guided revenue of $61B to $64B for the quarter ending September 30, 2026. It reported $64.6B — 0.9% above the top of the range.

Measure	3 months toSep 30, 2026	3 months toSep 30, 2025	Change
Total Revenue	$64.6B	$51.2B	+26.07%
Profit	$9.9B	$2.7B	+263.97%
Profit per share	$3.83	$1.05	+264.76%
Free Cash Flow	-$1.2B	$11.2B	-110.36%

These are single quarters, not a trailing year — the figures elsewhere on this site cover twelve months and will be much larger. A seasonal business swings a long way between the two: ServiceNow earns $2.0B of free cash flow in its December quarter and $0.5B in its June one.

Compared against the same quarter a year earlier, not against an analyst forecast. A “beat” or “miss” needs a consensus estimate, which is licensed data we do not carry — and getting it wrong is worse than leaving it out.

Earnings calls

A short summary of each call — what the quarter showed, what management expects and whether they delivered on what they said last time — with the full transcript underneath.

The latest call

Q2 FY2026 call

Held July 29, 2026

Meta's Q2 2026 revenue rose 28%, while operating income fell 8% as expenses climbed 55%.

Q2 2026 revenue reached $60.80 billion, up 28%, led by advertising; ad impressions and average prices both rose. Operating income fell 8.2% and free cash flow fell 80.6% in Q2 2026 as spending surged, leaving returns on AI capacity the main open question.

The numbers that mattered

Revenue

$60.80 billion

+28.0% year over year · Q2 2026

Advertising drove most revenue.

Our figures

Operating income

$18.77 billion

-8.2% year over year · Q2 2026

Legal charges and severance weighed on reported results.

Our figuresQ2 FY2026 call

META’s latest call summary is open to everyone as an example. Summaries of earlier calls are part of Pro.

Earlier calls

Q1 FY2026 callHeld April 29, 2026ProOpen

Summaries of earlier calls are part of Pro.

Q4 FY2025 callProOpen

Summaries of earlier calls are part of Pro.

Q3 FY2025 callProOpen

Summaries of earlier calls are part of Pro.

Q2 FY2025 callProOpen

Q1 FY2025 callProOpen

Source: Yahoo Finance, transcribed by Quartr. Speaker names and roles are as transcribed; analysts are sometimes unnamed.

What management said

“We hit major milestones this quarter toward delivering personal superintelligence for everyone - including launching Muse and Muse Wonder, our first frontier model,”
— Mark Zuckerberg

Quoted verbatim from the release, and shown only when the filing attributes it to a named person.

How the share price reacted

Releases land before the open or after the close, so the window runs from the close before the report day to the close of the session after it — the reaction is inside it either way.

Close before

$694.25

Oct 20, 2026

Close after

$648.85

Oct 22, 2026

Move

-6.54%

40.65M shares traded, against a normal 21.47M

What Meta Platforms, Inc. does

Meta is building the future of human connection, powered by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving toward building experiences that foster deeper connections and unlock new possibilities.

The company’s own description, as it appears at the foot of the release.

The quote and the company description come from Meta Platforms, Inc.’s Item 2.02 8-K filed October 21, 2026; the table is built from its quarterly reports. Read the release on EDGAR Share prices are split- and dividend-adjusted.

What Meta Platforms, Inc. reported on October 21, 2026

The quarter ending September 30, 2026, against the same quarter a year earlier.

What Meta Platforms, Inc. expects

Meta Platforms, Inc.’s own guidance, from its results release of October 21, 2026. It is the company’s statement of what it expects, not a forecast of ours.

Fiscal Q4 2026 · ending around December 2026

Revenue: $73B to $76B
Tax rate: 15.0% to 17.0%

Fiscal year 2026 · ending around December 2026

Operating expenses: $175B to $179B

The quarter just reported, against its guidance

In its release of July 29, 2026, Meta Platforms, Inc. guided revenue of $61B to $64B for the quarter ending September 30, 2026. It reported $64.6B — 0.9% above the top of the range.

Measure	3 months toSep 30, 2026	3 months toSep 30, 2025	Change
Total Revenue	$64.6B	$51.2B	+26.07%
Profit	$9.9B	$2.7B	+263.97%
Profit per share	$3.83	$1.05	+264.76%
Free Cash Flow	-$1.2B	$11.2B	-110.36%

Earnings calls

A short summary of each call — what the quarter showed, what management expects and whether they delivered on what they said last time — with the full transcript underneath.

The latest call

Q2 FY2026 call

Held July 29, 2026

Meta's Q2 2026 revenue rose 28%, while operating income fell 8% as expenses climbed 55%.

The numbers that mattered

Revenue

$60.80 billion

+28.0% year over year · Q2 2026

Advertising drove most revenue.

Our figures

Operating income

$18.77 billion

-8.2% year over year · Q2 2026

Legal charges and severance weighed on reported results.

Our figuresQ2 FY2026 call

META’s latest call summary is open to everyone as an example. Summaries of earlier calls are part of Pro.

Earlier calls

Q1 FY2026 callHeld April 29, 2026ProOpen

Summaries of earlier calls are part of Pro.

Q4 FY2025 callProOpen

Summaries of earlier calls are part of Pro.

Q3 FY2025 callProOpen

Summaries of earlier calls are part of Pro.

Q2 FY2025 callProOpen

Q1 FY2025 callProOpen

Source: Yahoo Finance, transcribed by Quartr. Speaker names and roles are as transcribed; analysts are sometimes unnamed.

What management said

“We hit major milestones this quarter toward delivering personal superintelligence for everyone - including launching Muse and Muse Wonder, our first frontier model,”
— Mark Zuckerberg

Quoted verbatim from the release, and shown only when the filing attributes it to a named person.

How the share price reacted

Releases land before the open or after the close, so the window runs from the close before the report day to the close of the session after it — the reaction is inside it either way.

Close before

$694.25

Oct 20, 2026

Close after

$648.85

Oct 22, 2026

Move

-6.54%

40.65M shares traded, against a normal 21.47M

What Meta Platforms, Inc. does

The company’s own description, as it appears at the foot of the release.

What management expects

Measure	Outlook	Against the last outlook
Total revenueQ3 2026	$61 billion-$64 billion	New
Total expensesFY 2026	$165 billion-$169 billion	Raised
Operating incomeFY 2026	Above 2025 operating income	Maintained
Capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leasesFY 2026	$130 billion-$145 billion	Raised
Tax rateRemaining quarters of 2026	15%-17%	Raised

Did they deliver last quarter’s outlook?

Measure	Guided	Actual	Result
Total revenue	$58 billion-$61 billion for Q2 2026	$60.80 billion for Q2 2026	Within

What changed in this report

AI read of the filings

Results released October 21, 2026, after the market closed

-7.0%-5.8% against the marketMarket -1.2% · Oct 21, 2026 close to Oct 22, 2026 close

Shares fell despite a revenue beat as higher expense guidance, heavy investment and the missing operating-income promise outweighed strong sales.

Into the report: -5.3% over a month, +15.2% over three months, -10.3% from the year's high.

What changed

OutlookHigher cost outlookFY2026 expense midpoint rose $10B to $177B from $167B; capex midpoint rose $2.5B to $140B from $137.5B.
PromiseOperating income promise omittedMeta no longer repeated its recurring expectation for FY2026 operating income to exceed FY2025 operating income.
QualityWeak cash conversionQ3 2026 free cash flow was negative $2.12B despite $32.79B of operating cash flow.
Outlook · Pulled the other wayRevenue outlook remains strongQ3 2026 revenue beat its $61–64B guide by 3.4%; Q4 2026 revenue guidance is $73–76B.
TrendSlower ad impression growthFamily of Apps ad-impression growth slowed from 19% in Q1 2026 to 14% in Q2 and 10% in Q3.

The outlook

Full year 2026 total expenses · FY2026$167B$177B+$10B at the midpoint
Capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases · FY2026$137.5B$140B+$2.5B at the midpoint

The trend

Revenue growthSlowing

Q3 2025Q3 2026 26.1%

Ad impression growth

Working for it

AI-supported core growthMeta says AI investments benefit the core business and emerging model advances and product launches can support strong overall growth throughout 2027.Needs: AI investments must keep benefiting the core business, while emerging models and products must contribute; no full-year 2027 revenue outlook is provided.
Longer-term AI returnsMeta says AI investments will take longer to generate returns than investments in its core business.Needs: The company needs its stated monetization opportunities and internal efficiencies to deliver returns over time.

Working against it

Rising investment burdenFY2026 capex midpoint increased to $140B from $137.5B in the prior release, while FY2026 expense midpoint rose to $177B from $167B.
Negative free cash flowQ3 2026 free cash flow was negative $2.12B, compared with positive $1.75B in Q2 2026.
Youth legal exposureThe agreement with 52 state attorneys general provides for payments up to approximately $18.59B; Meta also cites youth-related trials in coming months.

Promises from earlier reports

Operating income above prior yearDroppedFY2026 operating income expected above FY2025, repeated in all three earlier releases.Not repeated in the Q3 2026 release.

Quality of the quarter

Legal charge · Weighs on the figuresA Q3 2026 legal charge of $9.89B reduced reported operating income to $12.99B; excluding it, operating income was $22.88B.
Easy net-income comparison · Flatters the figuresQ3 2026 net income rose 264% year over year to $9.86B, against only $2.71B in Q3 2025.
Free cash flow · Weighs on the figuresQ3 2026 free cash flow was negative $2.12B, versus positive $1.75B in Q2 2026, while Q3 2026 net income was $9.86B.
Tax impact of charge · Weighs on the figuresThe Q3 2026 effective tax rate was 24%, versus 17% excluding the legal charge.

What was and wasn't said

The release offers no full-year 2027 revenue outlook, only an expectation of strong growth; no call transcript is available to assess analyst questions.

Change in the business

Written by AI on October 23, 2026 from Meta Platforms, Inc.'s results releases, earnings call and SEC filings; every quote it relied on was checked against them. It describes the report, it is not investment advice, and it is in English only.

What Meta Platforms, Inc. reported on October 21, 2026

What Meta Platforms, Inc. expects

Fiscal Q4 2026 · ending around December 2026

Fiscal year 2026 · ending around December 2026

Earnings calls

The numbers that mattered

Earlier calls

What management said

How the share price reacted

What Meta Platforms, Inc. does

What Meta Platforms, Inc. reported on October 21, 2026

What Meta Platforms, Inc. expects

Fiscal Q4 2026 · ending around December 2026

Fiscal year 2026 · ending around December 2026

Earnings calls

The numbers that mattered

Earlier calls

What management said

How the share price reacted

What Meta Platforms, Inc. does

What management expects

Did they deliver last quarter’s outlook?

Going well· 3

Risks· 4

Potential· 3

What changed since the last call

Asked, and not answered

What to watch on the next call

What changed in this report

What changed

The outlook

The trend

Working for it

Working against it

Promises from earlier reports

Quality of the quarter

What was and wasn't said

Change in the business

Watch next quarter

What the filings can't tell us