The US company Meta Platforms Inc. saw its revenue rise by 28 per cent in the second quarter, whilst its net profit fell by 14 per cent, which was significantly worse than market forecasts.
According to Meta’s statement, revenue for April–June stood at $60.8 billion, compared with $47.52 billion for the same period last year.
Net profit fell to $15.85 billion from $18.34 billion a year earlier, whilst earnings per share fell to $6.18 from $7.14.
Analysts surveyed by LSEG had forecast, on average, that Meta’s quarterly revenue would be $60.17 billion, with net profit of $7.22 per share.
The average number of daily active users (DAU) across the company’s services (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp) stood at 3.6 billion, up 3 per cent on the previous year. Analysts had, on average, expected DAU to rise to 3.61 billion.
The number of ad impressions on Meta’s apps rose by 14% last quarter, whilst average ad rates increased by 12%. Advertising revenue in the second quarter rose by 27% to $59.36 billion.
According to Meta’s forecast, its revenue for the third quarter will be $61–64 billion (the market consensus forecast is $63.15 billion)
Capital expenditure in 2026 is now expected to be in the range of $130–145 billion (previously $125–145 billion). In 2025, it stood at $72.22 billion.
Meta’s free cash flow in the second quarter fell to $784 million from $8.55 billion a year earlier due to major investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Meta’s shares fell by 7.5 per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday following the release of the results.