Meta’s fourth quarter beat on the top and bottom lines as the company anticipated a big increase in spending this year to as much as $135 billion driven by increased investment in its Superintelligence Labs.
Capex for 2025 totaled $72 billion amid an AI arms race that’s spooked investors but Meta shares are doing well after market close with the stock up about 10% on the q4 numbers and 2026 forecasts.
The company said it expects higher operating income this year versus last despite the higher capex. The company’s latest open-source AI software version, Llama 4, launched last year.
Users, or what Meta calls daily active people (DAP), across its platforms was in line with expectations at 3.58 billion on average, up 7%. Meta is the parent of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.
Advertising was solid with increases in impressions delivered across platforms and average price per ad up, respectively, 18% and 6% for the quarter ended in December. Ad sales surged to $58.1 billion from $46.8 billion, driving a 24% jump in total quarterly revenue to $59.9 billion.
Net income rose to $22.7 billion from $20.8 billion for diluted EPS of $8.88 vs $8.02.
Jury selection starts this week in Los Angeles on a landmark teen addition case against Meta and YouTube. TikTok and Snap, who were also defendants, have settled. “We continue to monitor legal and regulatory headwinds in the EU and the U.S. that could significantly impact our business and nancial results” the company said. “For example, we continue to see scrutiny on youth-related issues and have a number of trials scheduled for this year in the U.S., which may ultimately result in a material loss.”
As Deadline reported. jury selection in a lawsuit against the company and Google-owned YouTube began yesterday in downtown LA. In what is the first of several actions against social media and tech companies by users. The case in LA Superior Court alleges that social media companies are aware their platforms and algorithms are addictive and chronicles cases of suicide, depression, sleep disruption, eating disorders, body dysmorphia and anxiety.
The quarterly numbers also hit amid reports that Meta has blocked information about ICE agents on its Instagram, Facebook and Threads platforms as protests continue in Minneapolis after the second fatal shooting death of a protestor by an ICE agent.
Wall Street didn’t follow up on either but analysts sounded generally upbeat on a call hosted by Zuckerberg after the numbers. The stock had been pummeled after rough Q3 report last fall that included a one-time, non-cash income tax charge of $15.93 billion from the Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
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