Meta Revenue Up, but Net Income Plunges

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp has reported $51.2 billion in third-quarter revenue — a 26% increase from the same quarter a year ago that easily topped estimates of about $49.4 billion, Andrew Nusca reported for Fortune Tech.

Meta's increase in capital expenditures is driven primarily by infrastructure costs, with employee compensation. (Photo: Mark Zuckerberg Facebook)

It should have been a reason for celebration — until the company revealed an 83% drop in net income to $2.7 billion, due to a one-time income tax charge of almost $16 billion, and plans to spend even more on artificial intelligence than previously projected.

“Our current expectation is that capital expenditures dollar growth will be notably larger in 2026 than 2025,” the company said in a statement.

“We also anticipate total expenses will grow at a significantly faster percentage rate in 2026 than 2025.”

Meta raised its capital expenditures outlook to between $70 billion and $72 billion, up from the prior range of $66 billion to $72 billion. The increase is driven primarily by infrastructure costs, with employee compensation — particularly for newly hired AI specialists — following close behind.

Meta shares dropped 8%, to about $683, in after-hours trading.