Meta Platforms Inc - Class A

Meta Platforms delivered a mixed second quarter, with revenue clearing the bar but earnings falling well short as a surge in costs weighed heavily on the bottom line. The social media giant posted Q2 2026 revenue of $60.80 billion, up 28% year-over-year and slightly ahead of the $60.29 billion consensus, yet diluted EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.22 estimate by 14.42%, snapping a six-consecutive-quarter streak of beating EPS expectations. The culprit was a 55% spike in total costs and expenses to $42.03 billion, amplified by $2.40 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion in severance tied to an 8,000-employee headcount reduction, compressing operating margin to 31% from 43% a year ago. Advertising revenue grew 27% to $59.36 billion as daily active people across the Family of Apps climbed 3% to 3.60 billion. <a href="https://247wallst.com/investing/2026/07/25/meta-stock-is-down-nearly-10-in-2026-should-you-buy-before-july-29-q2-earnings/">Already under pressure heading into earnings</a>, the company guided Q3 revenue to $61.00-$64.00 billion while raising full-year expense guidance to $165.00-$169.00 billion and narrowing capital expenditure guidance to $130.00-$145.00 billion as its AI infrastructure buildout accelerates.