Meta shares jump 5% as AI spending boosts revenue and profit

Meta shares jumped about 5% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported third-quarter profit more than tripled, driven by a 26% revenue increase to $64.6 billion, signaling that its AI investments are boosting the core advertising business. Net income rose to $9.86 billion, or $3.83 per share, from $2.71 billion a year earlier, when earnings were hit by a one-off tax charge. Daily active users across its apps grew 3% to 3.64 billion, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted early success with the Muse AI agent, which has over 10 million users in the US and Canada. Meta raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to $135-145 billion and reported negative quarterly free cash flow for the first time since 2012 due to AI spending. The company also faces a $25 billion judgment in a New Mexico privacy case and approved a new class of nonvoting shares to fund investments without diluting Zuckerberg's control.