Meta Stock Pops as Earnings Blow Past Estimates

Meta (META) reported second-quarter revenue and profits that topped analysts’ expectations, sending shares to new highs in extended trading Wednesday. 

The Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp owner’s shares rocketed over 11% higher to $774 in after-hours trading, well above last month’s record highs. The stock was up about 19% for 2025 through Wednesday’s close.

Meta’s quarterly revenue grew 22% year-over-year to $47.52 billion, ahead of the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Its net income rose to $18.34 billion, or $7.14 per share, from $13.47 billion, or $5.16 per share a year earlier, also surpassing estimates. 

Advertising revenue, which makes up the bulk of Meta’s revenue, climbed 21% to $46.56 billion, exceeding expectations.

“On advertising, the strong performance this quarter is largely thanks to AI unlocking greater efficiency and gains across our ad system,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors during the company’s earnings call.

The CEO said that the company has also started to see signs of its AI systems improving themselves. “The improvement is slow for now, but undeniable, and developing superintelligence, which we define as AI that surpasses human intelligence in every way, we think is now in sight,” Zuckerberg said.

Looking ahead, Meta said it expects third-quarter revenue in the range of $47.5 billion to $50.5 billion, higher than the $46.29 billion analysts called for.

Meta Expects New AI Talent To Be Key Driver of Expense Growth

Meta said it now expects $66 billion to $72 billion in capital expenditures this year, raising the lower end of its projected range by $2 billion. The company said its capex is also likely to grow in 2026 as Meta continues “aggressively pursuing opportunities” to advance its AI development efforts.

“Infrastructure will be the single largest contributor to 2026 expense growth,” CFO Susan Li said, with employee compensation representing the second-largest driver as Meta grows its overall headcount and splurges on incentives to attract top AI talent.

Zuckerberg told investors he wants to have “the absolute best and most elite, talent-dense team” at the company. The CEO has reportedly been personally involved in a hiring spree with hefty compensation packages to build out Meta’s “Superintelligence” unit, with some of Meta’s recent hires including former Github CEO Nat Friedman and ex-Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang.

This article has been updated since it was first published to include additional information and reflect more recent share price values.