Meta’s third-quarter profit surges 35% reflecting strong ad revenue and its AI push

Meta Platforms Inc. posted stronger-than-expected results for the third quarter on Wednesday as its advertising revenue continued to grow.

For the three months ended on Sept. 30, the Menlo Park, California-based company earned $15.69 billion, or $6.03 per share, up 35% from $11.58 billion, or $4.39 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 19% to $40.59 billion from $34.15 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $5.22 per share on revenue of $40.21 billion, according to FactSet Research.

“We had a good quarter driven by AI progress across our apps and business,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “We also have strong momentum with Meta AI, Llama adoption, and AI-powered glasses.”

For the current quarter, Meta is forecasting revenue of $45 billion to $48 billion. Analysts are expecting $46.18 billion.

But the Instagram and Facebook parent company warned that it expects a “significant acceleration” in infrastructure spending next year.