Meta Platforms, Inc. reported fourth‑quarter 2025 results that surpassed Wall Street expectations, delivering revenue of $59.9 billion—an increase of 24% year‑over‑year—and diluted earnings per share of $8.88, a beat of roughly $0.73 (about 9%) over the consensus estimate of $8.15. The revenue lift was driven by a 7% rise in daily active people to 3.58 billion, which translated into higher advertising spend across the Family of Apps segment, while Reality Labs revenue declined 12% to $955 million, reflecting the timing of product launches and ongoing investment in immersive technologies.
Meta’s core advertising business continued to perform strongly, with the Family of Apps segment generating the bulk of revenue growth. The 7% increase in daily active people supported higher ad inventory demand, offsetting the 12% decline in Reality Labs revenue. The company’s focus on AI‑driven ad targeting and content recommendation helped maintain pricing power in a competitive market, contributing to the overall revenue beat.
Total operating expenses rose 40% year‑over‑year to $35.1 billion, driven largely by capital expenditures and higher headcount costs associated with AI infrastructure and talent acquisition. The increase in expenses compressed the operating margin to 41% from 48% in the prior year, reflecting the company’s aggressive investment strategy in AI and data center expansion. Despite the margin squeeze, Meta’s operating income remained robust at $24.7 billion, supported by the strong revenue growth in the Family of Apps segment.
Management guided for Q1 2026 revenue of $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion, well above the consensus estimate of $51.4 billion, and projected full‑year 2026 expenses of $162 billion to $169 billion, with capital expenditures expected to reach $115 billion to $135 billion. The upward revision in revenue guidance signals confidence in sustained demand for advertising and AI‑enabled services, while the higher expense outlook underscores the company’s commitment to scaling AI infrastructure and talent to maintain long‑term competitive advantage.
Mark Zuckerberg emphasized that 2025 was a “major AI acceleration” year, noting that the company is “building personal superintelligence for people around the world in 2026.” CFO Susan Li highlighted the continued focus on AI infrastructure, stating that compute capacity will remain constrained for much of 2026, but that the company is investing heavily to support future growth.
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