Meta's Q3 revenue up 26%, operating profit down 37% on legal costs

Meta reported a 26 percent year-on-year increase in third-quarter revenue on Wednesday, reaching 64.60 billion dollars, while operating profit fell 37 percent to 12.99 billion dollars due to a 9.89-billion-dollar legal charge over teen mental health and social media. Net income rose 264 percent to 9.86 billion dollars, boosted by a year-earlier one-time tax charge, and diluted earnings per share increased to 3.83 dollars. Excluding the legal charge, operating income would have been approximately 22.88 billion dollars, with advertising revenue climbing to 63.06 billion dollars. Daily active users across Meta's apps grew 3 percent to 3.64 billion in September, and capital expenditures totaled 34.91 billion dollars, leading to negative free cash flow. The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue of 73 to 76 billion dollars and plans to issue non-voting Class C stock in January 2027.