# Meta Revenue Climbs 26% as Shares Rise After Hours on AI Launches

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/37781
Published: 2026-10-22T11:28:20.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-22T11:28:20.000Z
Section: Business

> Advertising impressions rose 10% and average prices increased 14%, while a $9.89 billion legal charge cut operating margin in half.

Meta Platforms’ third-quarter revenue increased 26% to $64.6 billion, while shares climbed 3.57% after hours Wednesday as CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted new AI models.

Shares had gained 0.47% to $697.52 in regular trading before the earnings release, then reached $722.42 after hours. The company’s ad impressions rose 10% from a year earlier, and average ad prices increased 14%.

Meta’s family of apps averaged 3.64 billion daily active people in September, up 3% year over year. Zuckerberg highlighted the recent launches of Muse and Muse Wonder as Meta pursues personal superintelligence.

A $9.89 billion legal charge tied to teen mental health and social media litigation weighed on the quarter. Meta reached an agreement in August with 52 attorneys general, with payments of up to about $18.59 billion.

Costs and expenses rose 68% to $51.61 billion, pushing operating income down 37% to $12.99 billion and cutting operating margin to 20% from 40% a year earlier. Net income increased to $9.86 billion from $2.71 billion, while diluted earnings per share rose to $3.83 from $1.05.

Meta spent $34.91 billion on capital expenditures during the quarter and generated negative free cash flow of $2.12 billion.