Meta Q3 Revenue Up 26% to $64.6B, But $9.89B Legal Charge Cuts Operating Income 37%
META sits 32% above its 52-week low of $520.26.
Summary
Meta's Q3 revenue rose 26% to $64.6B and diluted EPS came in at $3.83, but a $9.89B legal charge pushed operating income down 37%. The filing also discloses a new $25B New Mexico penalty under appeal and $454.52B of contractual commitments funding the AI buildout.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · META
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Q3 Revenue Grows 26% to $64.6B
Advertising revenue rose 26% to $63.06B on a 10% increase in ad impressions and a 14% higher average price per ad; Family DAP reached 3.64 billion, up 3%.
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$9.89B Legal Charge Crushes Operating Income
Operating income fell 37% to $12.99B as general and administrative costs jumped 323% to $14.86B, mostly from the August 2026 multistate attorneys general agreement charge.
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New Mexico Court Imposes $25B Penalty
The October 21, 2026 order assigns 15% post-judgment interest and reserves injunctive relief; Meta has accrued an amount and intends to appeal, and may need to post a bond.
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AI Buildout Drives Debt and Commitments
Long-term debt face value rose to $84.0B after $25.0B of May 2026 notes, and non-cancelable contractual commitments total $454.52B, with $45.85B due in 2026 and $121.41B in 2027.
Analysis · META · Technology
Revenue growth is intact — ad revenue rose 26% on 10% more impressions and a 14% higher average price per ad — but profitability took a hit: operating income fell 37% to $12.99B because general and administrative costs jumped 323%, mostly from a $9.89B charge tied to the August 2026 multistate attorneys general settlement. Net income still rose to $9.86B ($3.83 diluted EPS) versus $2.71B a year ago, but that comparison is flattered by a $15.93B one-time tax charge in the year-ago quarter. The bigger balance-sheet story is the AI buildout: capital expenditures of $83.06B for the nine months, $454.52B of non-cancelable commitments, and $84.0B of debt after the $25.0B May 2026 notes. Separately, the New Mexico court imposed a $25B civil penalty on October 21, 2026, which Meta will appeal — a live tail risk on top of the settlement already accrued.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 22, 2026, 46.3% of the 283 measured filings Wiseek scored 9 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.58%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, META was trading at $688.63 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.8T. The 52-week trading range was $520.26 to $779.82. This filing was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 9 out of 10.