Meta Revenue Growth Accelerated as Ad Pricing Rose

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• META

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Meta Platforms (META), the Facebook and Instagram parent, reported faster revenue growth in the first quarter as ad impressions and pricing both picked up, while a tax benefit lifted profit.[1][2][3][4]

Revenue rose 33% year over year to $56.31 billion, accelerating from 24% growth in the prior quarter and extending a four-quarter pickup from 16% growth a year earlier. Sales fell sequentially from $59.89 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting the seasonal step down after the holiday period.[1][2][3][4]

The top-line gain also had help from currency. Constant-currency revenue growth was 29%, up from 23% in the prior quarter, while foreign exchange added 4 percentage points after providing a 1-point tailwind in each of the two previous quarters.[1][2][5][3][6]

Advertising carried the quarter. Ad impressions rose 19% from a year earlier, improving from 18% in the fourth quarter and 5% in the year-earlier period, while the average price per ad increased 12%, twice the prior quarter's pace.[1][2][7][3][4]

Audience growth was steadier. Family daily active people totaled 3.56 billion in March, up 4% from a year earlier and down from 3.58 billion in December. Meta attributed the sequential decline to internet disruptions in Iran and WhatsApp access restrictions in Russia.[1][2][7]

Net income rose 61% to $26.77 billion, and diluted earnings increased 62% to $10.44 a share. The results included an $8.03 billion income-tax benefit tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which offset part of a $15.93 billion noncash tax charge recorded in the third quarter of 2025; excluding the benefit, earnings would have been $3.13 a share lower.[1][7][8]

Costs and expenses rose 35% to $33.44 billion, outpacing revenue growth by 2 percentage points. Operating margin was 41%, flat with the year-earlier period and the fourth quarter, as headcount ended the period at 77,986, up 1% from a year earlier and down sequentially.[1][9][2][10][3][4]

Family of Apps revenue increased to $55.91 billion from $41.90 billion a year earlier, while Reality Labs revenue slipped to $402 million from $412 million. Reality Labs' operating loss narrowed to $4.03 billion from $4.21 billion a year earlier and improved from a $6.02 billion loss in the fourth quarter.[11][12][6]

Meta kept its full-year 2026 expense outlook at $162 billion to $169 billion and raised its capital-expenditure outlook by $10 billion at both ends, citing higher component pricing and additional data-center costs. Free cash flow rose to $12.39 billion from $10.33 billion a year earlier, while the company again made no share repurchases as capital spending increased.[9][13][11][14][15][4][16]

Citations

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