Meta Exceeds Q3 Expectations on Strong Ad Growth, But 2025 Capex Uncertainty Weighs on Shares

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) reported impressive third-quarter results, beating Wall Street’s earnings and revenue estimates thanks to robust ad impression growth and increased ad pricing. Despite the revenue beat, shares fell about 3% intra-day on Thursday as questions lingered around the company's capital expenditure plans for 2025.

For Q3, Meta posted adjusted earnings per share of $6.03, surpassing the $5.21 consensus. Revenue hit $40.59 billion, a 19% year-over-year increase and slightly above the $40.18 billion forecast. Ad impressions across Meta’s suite of apps rose 7% year-over-year, while the average price per ad grew by 11%.

Meta’s family daily active people (DAP) metric also reached 3.29 billion in September, marking a 5% increase over last year, and free cash flow came in strong at $15.52 billion.

Looking ahead, Meta provided Q4 revenue guidance between $45 and $48 billion, with the midpoint above the $46.09 billion consensus. However, while Meta reiterated "significant growth" in 2025 capex for infrastructure, it indicated these expenses would be lower than in Q4.