Meta Platforms (Meta (META)) reported its second-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, and the results were a bit of a mixed bag. Revenue came in stronger than expected, but earnings missed the mark, and the company tweaked its capital expenditure guidance higher. Shares slipped about 5% in after-hours trading.
Here are the numbers: Revenue hit $60.80 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $59.50 billion. That's a 28% jump from a year ago. But adjusted earnings per share were $6.18, below the $7.13 analysts were looking for. The earnings miss likely reflects higher costs, particularly around AI investments.
On the user engagement front, family daily active people grew 3% year-over-year. Ad impressions were up 14%, and the average price per ad rose 12% — a healthy sign for Meta's core advertising business. Headcount was down 1% year-over-year to 75,472, as the company continues to manage costs.
Meta generated $31.86 billion in cash from operations and $784 million in free cash flow during the quarter. It ended the period with $90.26 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg struck an optimistic tone, saying, "AI is accelerating our core business today, powering our next generation of products, and opening the door to entirely new enterprise opportunities. The results are already showing, and I'm optimistic about the potential ahead."
Looking ahead, Meta expects third-quarter revenue between $61 billion and $64 billion, compared to the $62.68 billion consensus. For the full year, the company now sees expenses in the range of $165 billion to $169 billion, up from a prior forecast of $162 billion to $169 billion. Capital expenditures are expected to be $130 billion to $145 billion, versus the previous $125 billion to $145 billion — so the low end got a $5 billion bump.
Meta also flagged regulatory risks, noting that it's "monitoring regulatory matters that could impact its business and financial results." Specifically, the company said it "continue[s] to see scrutiny on youth-related issues in several markets and have a number of youth-related trials scheduled for this year in the U.S., which may ultimately result in a material loss."
Meta executives will discuss the quarter on an earnings call at 4:30 p.m. ET.
At the time of publication, Meta shares were trading at $556 in after-hours, down 5.06%.
