Around the world, Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, reported a strong profit performance for the first nine months of its fiscal year. The company announced earnings of 25.081 million dollars for that period, marking a notable 35% rise over the previous year and underscoring the momentum across its core platforms and new growth initiatives.
During the same span, Meta disclosed that Mark Zuckerberg guided the company toward a robust revenue trajectory, with a total turnover reaching 94.791 million dollars. The nine-month figure represents a 12% increase compared with the same period in 2022, highlighting sustained demand in digital advertising and the company’s expanding product ecosystem, as detailed in the release.
In the third quarter, Meta posted a net income of 11.583 billion dollars, reflecting a significant year-over-year uplift of 163%. Revenue grew by 23% year over year, with quarterly turnover touching 34.146 million dollars. Executives credited this performance to continued progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies, a focus that aligns with Meta’s ongoing investments in machine learning to enhance targeting, measurement, and user experiences across its apps and services.
Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of AI and immersive experiences in Meta’s strategy. He highlighted the rollout of Quest 3, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and the company’s AI studio as tangible milestones that demonstrate how digital experiences can blend with the physical world. These products illustrate Meta’s commitment to advancing AI capabilities while expanding the potential for mixed reality environments that connect people in meaningful ways.
Digital advertising remained Meta’s primary revenue driver, contributing 33.643 billion dollars in the most recent quarter, a 23% increase from the prior year. This strength supported a profitable applications segment, which generated 17.490 billion dollars in profit and showcased the company’s ability to monetize large audiences across its family of apps.
Despite a favorable quarter, the company noted a temporary drag from investments in a metadatabase project tied to Reality Labs. The division has faced ongoing losses since its inception in 2020, with the quarter reflecting a loss of about 3.742 billion dollars. Meta explained that losses in this area were anticipated as part of a broader strategy to build long-term AI and hardware ecosystems, even though they weighed on overall profitability for the period.
Looking ahead, Meta reduced its full-year 2023 expense outlook, acknowledging a plan that includes around 3.5 billion dollars allocated for workforce reductions. Executives warned that Reality Labs could report higher losses in the near term as the company continues investing to scale new platforms and experiments in AI, augmented reality, and related technologies.
Management also flagged potential regulatory headwinds as a material consideration for the company’s financial outlook. A complex regulatory environment in both the European Union and the United States was cited, with possible effects on operations, data practices, and innovation timelines. The discussion underscored how policy developments can influence investment plans and the pace of new product introductions in global markets.
Additionally, Meta acknowledged the likelihood that ongoing appeals and potential changes to antitrust or competition-related regulations in the United States could impact operating flexibility and strategic initiatives. The company stressed that a favorable regulatory outcome would help maintain momentum across its platforms and investments in AI, while adverse results could introduce additional constraints that slow certain projects or require adjustments in capital allocation.
Even after a day of cautious trading and initial volatility, Meta’s quarterly results were met with a positive stock-market reaction. By the close on Wall Street, the company’s shares had risen, erasing earlier declines and contributing to a year-to-date performance that has surpassed many expectations. The integrated strength across advertising, app monetization, and emerging AI initiatives positioned Meta well as a technology and communications leader in North American markets, with implications for investors and users across Canada and the United States.