Third-quarter revenue - $64.60 billion versus the Wall Street forecast of $63.33 billion and $51.24 billion a year earlier (+26%). Earnings per share of $3.83 versus expectations of $3.57. Advertising brought in $63.06 billion, which is 97.6% of all the company's money: impressions rose 10%, and the average ad price rose 14%. The daily audience across all services is 3.64 billion people (+3%).
At the same time, expenses jumped 68% to $51.61 billion, operating profit fell 37% to $12.99 billion, and the operating margin compressed from 40% to 20%. The main reason is a one-time charge of $9.89 billion under the August agreement with the attorneys general of 52 U.S. states over the impact of social networks on teenagers. Without it, earnings per share would have been $7.40, and the margin would have been around 35.4%, which is still below last year's 40%.
A separate case in New Mexico: a jury found a violation of the state's law on unfair practices - 43,899,725 violations related to privacy, third-party developers' access to data, and moderation. The formal maximum fine approached $219 billion, and the court reduced the amount to $25 billion. This is not a quarterly expense and not an immediate payment: Meta is contesting the ruling and will appeal.
The money is going into artificial intelligence: quarterly capex was $34.91 billion, free cash flow went negative by $2.12 billion with operating cash flow of $32.79 billion. The 2026 capex forecast was narrowed to $135-145 billion.
What's next: starting January 19, 2027, Meta is introducing public Class C shares without voting rights - one for each Class A or Class B share via a special dividend. The effect on the Class A price will be like a two-for-one split, and Mark Zuckerberg's control is preserved. During the week, the stock already fell to $680, with a September high of around $780.
Did you look at META's report on Wednesday night?
You opened the numbers, saw revenue above forecast - and then there's only one question left: what size position were you holding on that candle. In an account of a few thousand, a 2% move in the stock turns into an amount that's even boring to lock in. Prop trading works differently: you pay for a test account, get the company's trading nominal, and share the result with it. Major companies report every quarter, so there's time to figure out the mechanics before the next season.