Meta Q3 earnings showed revenue beating expectations. Meta said on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, that revenue reached $64.60 billion, up 26% from a year earlier, and it forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion. Shares rose about 2.5% in extended trading, the session that runs after regular market hours close.
Revenue, profit and the outlook
Earnings per share, a common measure of profit for each share of stock, came in at $3.83. Analysts had expected $5.75 per share, but it is not clear whether the two figures are directly comparable, so that gap should be read with care. Revenue was ahead of the $63.37 billion figure used for comparison, which is the basis for the revenue beat.
The outlook, which companies call guidance, is a forecast for the coming period. For the fourth quarter, Meta expects revenue of between $73 billion and $76 billion, with $74.5 billion at the midpoint. LSEG, a financial data provider, put analyst expectations at $73.73 billion, so the midpoint sits slightly above that figure.
AI assistant and user engagement
The main growth story this quarter has been Muse, Meta's AI personal assistant, which debuted in September. Mark Zuckerberg said in the earnings release that the company hit major milestones toward "personal superintelligence for everyone", including the launch of Muse Wonder, which he described as its first frontier model.
Zuckerberg told analysts that more than 10 million people in the US and Canada had set up Muse personal agents over the past month and a half, and that roughly a quarter of them use it on any given day. He added that shopping is the biggest use case so far, with more than a quarter of Muse users buying at an average size of over $200. Meta also plans to charge developers for access to its proprietary foundation models, the large AI systems that power its tools, and for its Muse Code agent.
Workforce, Reality Labs and a new share class
Susan Li, Meta's finance chief, told analysts that the workforce shrank 12% from the previous quarter to 66,000 employees. That followed large layoffs over the summer that affected about 10% of staff, or around 8,000 jobs.
Reality Labs, the unit behind Meta's virtual reality and AI devices, posted $443 million in third-quarter sales and a loss of $4.13 billion. Analysts polled by StreetAccount had expected $513 million in revenue and a loss of $4.54 billion for the division.
Meta also announced a new class of non-voting Class C common stock, meaning shares that do not carry voting rights, which takes effect in January 2027. Existing shareholders will receive it through a dividend, which the company describes as effectively a two-for-one stock split. Meta said the move would help it finance growth while keeping its founder-led model.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Meta ki Q3 amdani 26 fisad barh kar $64.60 billion ho gayi hai, aur company ne agli quarter ke liye $73 billion se $76 billion tak ki umeed di hai. Muse AI assistant ko log tezi se apna rahe hain, lekin company mein kaam karne walon ki tadad kam hui hai aur Reality Labs ab bhi bada ghata dikha raha hai. Pakistan mein aam users ke bill ya qeemat par is ka seedha asar nahi hai, lekin Facebook aur Instagram par ishtehar dene walon ke liye yeh ahem signal hai.
