Meta: revenue exceeds forecasts. Share price rises. Cash flow in the red
Net profit below consensus. The advertising business remains robust, but there is growing pressure on profitability and free cash flow. The share price is up in after-hours trading
Meta has published its quarterly results. Zuckerberg’s group – regarding which, just before the financial results were released, news broke of a multi-billion-dollar fine in the US for privacy breaches, has recorded a turnover of 64.601 billion dollars. This figure represents a 26 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2025. As for Meta’s operating profit, however, it stood at 12.988 billion, down by 37 per cent. Finally, net profit stood at 9.860 billion, more than tripling the figure compared with a year earlier. However, this figure did not exceed estimates.
Costs and charges
As regards operating costs and expenses, however, Meta recorded 51.61 billion, up 68 per cent compared with the same period last year. This increase, which was also influenced by legal costs, highlights growing pressure on the group’s cost structure. At the same time, capital expenditure (CapEx) totalled $34.91 billion, reflecting the intensification of financial efforts directed towards the development of technological infrastructure. Despite this, the company continued to reward shareholders through the distribution of dividends totalling $1.36 billion. As at 30 September 2026, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totalled $82.45 billion, confirming a strong liquidity position.
Cash flows
Operating cash flow stood at 32.79 billion. However, the high level of investment resulted in a negative free cash flow of 2.12 billion dollars. This divergence between operating cash generation and residual liquidity highlights how infrastructure expansion is absorbing an increasing share of the resources generated. Overall, Meta maintains robust financial strength, but the acceleration in spending makes it all the more important to assess the economic returns on investment. The sustainability of this strategy will depend on the ability to translate the current use of capital into future growth in profits and free cash flow.
The Group’s outlook
The group expects total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2026 to be between 73 and 76 billion. The estimates assume that, based on current exchange rates, foreign exchange movements will have a negative impact of around one percentage point on year-on-year revenue growth. On the cost side, forecasts have been revised upwards, including the charge of 9.9 billion associated with legal proceedings recognised in the third quarter. As a result, total expenses for the full financial year 2026 are expected to be between 175 and 179 billion dollars. At division level, Reality Labs’ operating losses will decrease compared with 2025, settling within a range of between 18 and 19 billion dollars. Finally, capital expenditure (CapEx) for 2026, including repayments of the principal on finance leases, will be between $135 billion and $145 billion, compared with the previous forecast of $130 billion to $145 billion.
New type of shares
Beyond the financial results, the group has announced the creation of a new class of non-voting shares, with the aim of raising the capital needed to develop and manage artificial intelligence models. The new class of shares will come into effect in January 2027 and will not alter the voting control held by Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. “The creation of Class C ordinary shares will enable us to preserve the founder-led management model, which has contributed to the company’s success since its inception,” Meta stated in its quarterly results announcement.
