United States: Meta platforms has reported a sharp increase in profits and revenue, underscoring the strength of its core business even as it invests billions of dollars in artificial intelligence (AI) development.
The company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp posted a 22 percent rise in revenue for the April–June quarter, reaching $47.5 billion. Profits soared by 36 percent to $18.3 billion compared to the same period last year.
However, expenses also climbed 12 percent to $27 billion as Meta accelerated investments in AI infrastructure and talent. These rising costs are expected to continue, driven largely by spending on servers, data centres, and employee compensation.
Ahead of the earnings announcement, CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined his vision to build ‘AI superintelligence’ capable of outperforming human cognition in solving complex problems. Zuckerberg also teased the development of personal superintelligence tools to handle everyday tasks, such as remembering anniversaries or ordering gifts on behalf of users.
To compete with leading AI players like OpenAI and Google, Meta has offered compensation packages of up to $100 million to recruit top talent. The company has also invested over $14 billion into AI startup ScaleAI and appointed its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead AI initiatives.
Mike Proulx of Forrester remarked that, “Meta is future-proofing itself as a growth company in case its current platforms begin to stagnate.” Despite a lukewarm response to its Llama 4 large language models, Meta continues to deploy AI across its advertising business, a key revenue driver. According to Minda Smiley of Emarketer, these AI-powered ad tools have contributed to the company’s recent financial success.
Smiley added that, “Meta’s AI investments in advertising are paying off, but the massive expenditure on superintelligence will remain under scrutiny from investors eager for tangible returns.”
Meta said 3.4 billion people use at least one of its apps daily, providing a strong foundation to support its AI expansion. Following the earnings report, Meta’s stock surged more than 10 percent in after-hours trading in New York.
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