MENLO PARK, California, January 17, 2026 — Meta Platforms reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and provided an optimistic outlook for 2026, sending its shares up more than 15% in after-hours trading on Thursday.
The company posted revenue of $40.1 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, up 21% year-over-year and beating analyst estimates of $39.2 billion.
Net income reached $16.8 billion, or $6.43 per share, surpassing the $6.12 consensus forecast. Daily active users across Meta’s family of apps grew to 3.24 billion, a 5% increase.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted heavy investments in artificial intelligence as the key driver of future growth. “We’re going to continue investing aggressively in AI infrastructure and talent,” he said on the earnings call.
Meta plans to spend between $60 billion and $65 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, primarily for AI data centers, GPUs, and related infrastructure—well above the $38-42 billion range for 2025.
The company also announced plans to accelerate AI feature rollouts across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. New generative tools for content creation, personalized recommendations, and advertising optimization are expected to drive engagement and revenue in the coming year.
CFO Susan Li noted that AI-driven ad targeting improvements contributed to a 22% increase in advertising revenue, the company’s core business. She added that while AI investments will pressure near-term margins, the long-term payoff in user growth and monetization will be substantial.
Analysts largely welcomed the results. Bank of America raised its price target to $650 from $580, citing Meta’s AI momentum. Piper Sandler maintained an overweight rating, calling the spending plan “bold but justified” given competitive pressures from rivals like Google and OpenAI.
Meta shares, which had been down more than 10% year-to-date before the report, closed at $582. The surge reflects renewed investor confidence in the company’s ability to monetize AI while maintaining strong core growth.
The earnings report follows a challenging 2025 for Meta, marked by regulatory scrutiny in Europe and the U.S., slower ad growth in some markets, and heavy spending on metaverse initiatives that have yet to deliver significant returns.
