Meta's Q3 revenue hits record $51B amid lavish AI spending
What's the story
Meta has reported mixed financial results for the third quarter of 2025. The tech giant posted a record quarterly revenue of $51.24 billion, surpassing Wall Street expectations and its own projections for third-quarter sales. However, the company also recorded an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05, which was significantly lower than the expected EPS of $6.7 due to a one-time non-cash income tax charge of $15.93 billion.
Future projections
CEO Zuckerberg optimistic about company's future
Despite the EPS miss, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains optimistic about the company's future. He said, "We had a strong quarter for our business and our community." The company expects its fourth-quarter revenue to be between $56 billion and $59 billion. The company also raised its 2025 capital expenditure guidance to a range of $70 billion to $72 billion, up from the previous forecast of $66 billion to $72 billion.
Investment strategy
Meta to 'invest aggressively' in 2026
Meta plans to "invest aggressively" in 2026 to meet its computational needs, according to CFO Susan Li. The company also announced a joint venture with Blue Owl Capital to build and finance a $27 billion Hyperion data center campus in Louisiana. Li said total expenses are expected to grow at a much faster percentage rate in 2026 than in 2025, mainly due to infrastructure costs and employee compensation costs.
Market response
First financial update since AI unit layoffs
This is the first financial update since Meta announced plans to lay off 600 staffers from its AI unit. Despite the layoffs, the company's stock has been on a steady rise over the past six months, although it dropped about 8% in extended trading after the earnings announcement. The last two earnings reports beat Wall Street expectations.
Product performance
Meta's advertising revenue reached $50 billion
Meta's unit responsible for smart glasses and virtual reality headsets—Reality Labs—reported a third-quarter loss of $4.4 billion on $470 million in sales. The company reported 3.54 billion daily active users across its apps for the quarter, surpassing Wall Street's estimate of 3.5 billion. Its advertising revenue reached $50.08 billion, exceeding expectations of $48.5 billion. The company also said its employee count stood at 78,450 as of September 30, marking an 8% year-over-year increase.