Meta Platforms (META) delivered a commanding second-quarter performance.
The earnings report sent its stock soaring nearly 12% and catapulting its market value by more than $300 billion in a single day. The Facebook parent reported earnings per share of $7.14, crushing Wall Street’s estimate of $5.89. Revenue surged to $47.5 billion, a 22% jump from a year ago, easily outpacing consensus expectations of $44.83 billion.
Meta’s digital advertising business remains its core growth engine. Advertising revenue climbed to $46.5 billion, boosted by a 9% increase in average price per ad and an 11% rise in ad impressions across the company’s Family of Apps. User engagement held strong, with daily active users rising 6% year-over-year to 3.48 billion.
Shares hit an intraday high of $778.43 on Thursday following the results—up from just $627.93 at the prior session’s close—marking a new record high for the company and reinforcing investor confidence in Meta’s transformation from social media powerhouse to AI-driven juggernaut.
AI Bets Pay Off: Meta Balances Innovation with Discipline
While Meta continues to spend aggressively on artificial intelligence infrastructure, its approach is proving more measured than some peers. Capital expenditures in Q2 doubled to $17 billion year-over-year, with full-year guidance now set between $66 billion and $72 billion. That’s a modest bump compared to Alphabet’s (GOOG) recently announced $10 billion capex hike.
Meta’s digital advertising business remains its core growth engine. Advertising revenue climbed to $46.5 billion, boosted by a 9% increase in average price per ad and an 11% rise in ad impressions across the company’s Family of Apps. User engagement held strong, with daily active users rising 6% year-over-year to 3.48 billion.
Shares hit an intraday high of $778.43 on Thursday following the results—up from just $627.93 at the prior session’s close—marking a new record high for the company and reinforcing investor confidence in Meta’s transformation from social media powerhouse to AI-driven juggernaut.
AI Bets Pay Off: Meta Balances Innovation with Discipline
While Meta continues to spend aggressively on artificial intelligence infrastructure, its approach is proving more measured than some peers. Capital expenditures in Q2 doubled to $17 billion year-over-year, with full-year guidance now set between $66 billion and $72 billion. That’s a modest bump compared to Alphabet’s (GOOG) recently announced $10 billion capex hike.
Behind those numbers lies Meta’s expanding AI ecosystem. The company is pouring resources into advanced infrastructure, including multi-gigawatt data centers like the upcoming “Hyperion” facility. CFO Susan Li pointed out that infrastructure and compensation for top-tier AI talent will be the largest drivers of expense growth into 2026.
Reality Labs, Meta’s hardware and virtual reality division, remains a costly bet. Despite revenue rising 5% to $370 million—driven by Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses—the unit posted a $4.5 billion loss. Still, CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains committed to the long game, betting that AI and wearable tech will be the next frontier for consumer computing.
Meta is also taking a commanding position in AI leadership by hiring high-profile talent. Former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao now leads Meta’s Superintelligence Lab. The lab also includes heavyweights like Alexandr Wang from Scale AI and Nat Friedman, formerly of GitHub.
The Vision of “Personal Superintelligence” Drives Meta Forward
More than just financials and infrastructure, Meta is positioning itself at the center of a coming wave of AI-powered personal technology. Zuckerberg’s vision goes beyond chatbots and automation. In a shareholder letter, he described a future where “personal superintelligence” helps users unlock creativity, improve relationships, and realize personal aspirations.
This long-term narrative aligns with Meta’s product development pipeline. From machine learning-enhanced ad tech tools like Advantage+, Andromeda, and GEM, to wearable AI like Oakley Meta smart glasses, the company is embedding AI into every layer of its consumer ecosystem.
Threads, Meta’s Twitter-like platform, has reached 320 million monthly active users, offering yet another monetization channel tied to Meta’s expanding ad-tech stack. And with AI now powering more precise ad targeting and higher engagement, the returns on Meta’s data and compute-heavy infrastructure investments are starting to materialize.
Conclusion
Meta’s second-quarter earnings are more than just a beat—they’re a statement of intent. As rivals ramp up AI spending, Meta is proving that it can innovate at scale without losing financial discipline. By weaving artificial intelligence into its advertising engine, infrastructure strategy, and consumer-facing products, the company is not only defending its turf—it’s redefining the battleground.
While the costs are immense, so is the opportunity. With a bold vision for “personal superintelligence,” Meta is positioning itself to lead the next phase of the AI revolution—one where digital platforms are not just social, but deeply personal, intelligent, and indispensable.
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