Meta Platforms Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc. · Big Tech (Ads/Social)

Wed, July 29, 2026·After Market Close

MetaAdvertisingAICapExQ2 EarningsEarnings

01Wall Street Consensus

EPS$7.17

Revenue$60.2B

02Earnings Results

EPS$6.18-13.8%

Revenue$60.80B+1.0%

Operating margin31

After-Hours ReactionAH -9.6%

Key Takeaways

Revenue $60.80B — beat consensus of roughly $60.2B by +1.0%, +28% YoY
EPS $6.18 — missed consensus of roughly $7.17 by -13.8%, down YoY, a large miss
Operating margin 31% (down sharply from 43% a year ago) — total costs and expenses rose 55% to $42.0B, including roughly $2.4B in legal charges and roughly $1.18B in severance tied to May layoffs
Operating cash flow $31.86B, capex $31.08B, free cash flow $784M — down 91% from $8.55B a year ago
Q3 revenue guide $61B-$64B
FY2026 total-expense guide raised to $165B-$169B; capex guide raised at the low end to $130B-$145B
No specific 2027 capex figure given — called variable, with an evolving funding mix (more debt, asset-manager partnerships)

Key Checkpoints

01Ad revenue growth, impressions, and pricing
02Reality Labs operating loss
03AI recommendation and ad-efficiency gains
04CapEx guidance (AI infrastructure)
05DAP and engagement

Upside Catalysts

AI-driven ad efficiency gains — rising ARPU
Llama and generative AI product expansion
Datacenter CapEx hikes — value-chain trickle-down

Risk Factors

Surging CapEx → margin and FCF pressure
Ad-market sensitivity to the economy
Regulation (EU, privacy)
Continued Reality Labs losses

Detail

EEPS History (Last 14 Quarters)

Actual EPS vs Consensus — Green Beat · Red Miss

Beat13

Miss1

Beat rate93%

1Our Read

The miss was large. Consensus estimates differ across sources and cannot be pinned to a single number, but the shortfall sits in a -14% to -16% band.

Margin matters more. The operating margin collapsed from 43% a year earlier to 30.9%, a twelve-point drop. Free cash flow — operating cash flow less capital expenditure — fell 81% year on year.

Against that, capex guidance was raised in real terms by lifting the bottom of the range. No 2027 guidance was given.

The spending is fixed and the earning is left open.

Detail

SEPS 서프라이즈 히스토리

Beat13Miss1Beat률 93%

분기별 EPS 컨센서스 대비 서프라이즈(%) — 막대: EPS, 점선: 매출

컨센서스 대비 실제 EPS/매출 서프라이즈 (%)

Comments

Earnings

02Earnings Results

EPS$6.18-13.8%

Revenue$60.80B+1.0%

Operating margin31

After-Hours ReactionAH -9.6%

Key Takeaways

Revenue $60.80B — beat consensus of roughly $60.2B by +1.0%, +28% YoY
EPS $6.18 — missed consensus of roughly $7.17 by -13.8%, down YoY, a large miss
Operating margin 31% (down sharply from 43% a year ago) — total costs and expenses rose 55% to $42.0B, including roughly $2.4B in legal charges and roughly $1.18B in severance tied to May layoffs
Operating cash flow $31.86B, capex $31.08B, free cash flow $784M — down 91% from $8.55B a year ago
Q3 revenue guide $61B-$64B
FY2026 total-expense guide raised to $165B-$169B; capex guide raised at the low end to $130B-$145B
No specific 2027 capex figure given — called variable, with an evolving funding mix (more debt, asset-manager partnerships)

1Our Read

The miss was large. Consensus estimates differ across sources and cannot be pinned to a single number, but the shortfall sits in a -14% to -16% band.

Margin matters more. The operating margin collapsed from 43% a year earlier to 30.9%, a twelve-point drop. Free cash flow — operating cash flow less capital expenditure — fell 81% year on year.

Against that, capex guidance was raised in real terms by lifting the bottom of the range. No 2027 guidance was given.

The spending is fixed and the earning is left open.