Meta (META) Q2 2026 EPS Misses by 14% as AI Costs Surge 55%
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on July 29, 2026.
Meta's AI infrastructure blitz obliterated operating margins: a 55% cost surge, $2.4 billion in legal charges, and $1.18 billion in severance crushed earnings even as ad revenue grew 27% and daily users hit 3.6 billion. EPS missed by 14% at $6.18, snapping six straight beats.
Continue ReadingShow less
Meta's Q2 2026 earnings snapped a six-quarter streak of beats in dramatic fashion. A 55% surge in costs — driven by the company's aggressive AI infrastructure build-out — combined with $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion in severance to crush the bottom line. Reported EPS came in at $6.18, falling 14% short of the $7.22 consensus estimate.
The pain was concentrated entirely on the cost side. Ad revenue grew 27% and daily active users across Meta's family of apps reached 3.6 billion, both pointing to a fundamentally healthy demand picture. Revenue of $60.8 billion edged past the $60.3 billion estimate, making the EPS miss stand out even more sharply — this was a margin story, not a revenue story.
Disclosure
1 INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA( www.finra.org )/SIPC( www.sipc.org ).2The probability of a member receiving $1,000 is 0.028%. If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Members must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. The probability percentage is subject to decrease. Members are only eligible for the Stock Award promotion upon opening their first brokerage account; subsequent cash brokerage accounts are ineligible for the promo, including for members with multiple accounts. 3Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees. 4There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event.
SoFi Active Invest is offering a limited-time promotion. Open an account, fund it with $50 or more, and you could receive up to $1,000 in complimentary stock for Active Invest accounts. See for yourself by clicking here now. (Sponsor)
Investors will be watching closely to see whether Meta characterizes the cost spike as a one-time reset or the new run rate for its AI ambitions. The prior six quarters all came in above expectations, with EPS ranging from $6.03 in Q3 2024 to $8.88 in Q4 2025, so the Q2 2026 result represents a meaningful step-down that the market will want explained.
Mentioned: META