Meta Platforms posted its 17th consecutive quarterly revenue beat on Wednesday, reporting $64.6 billion for the third quarter, up 26% from a year earlier and ahead of the $63.37 billion Wall Street had expected. Shares rose roughly 2.5% in after-hours trading as investors looked past a one-time legal charge to the underlying strength of the advertising business funding Mark Zuckerberg's artificial-intelligence buildout.
Reported earnings per share came in at $3.83, well below what analysts had modeled, but the headline number was distorted by a $9.9 billion charge tied to an August child-safety legal settlement. Stripped of that one-time cost, adjusted EPS would have been $7.40, comfortably clearing estimates and reinforcing the case that Meta's core ad business remains healthy enough to bankroll its AI ambitions.
That AI push is increasingly centered on Muse, the generative AI product Meta launched this year, which the company said has drawn more than 10 million sign-ups in just six weeks, with roughly a quarter of users returning daily. Barclays raised its price target on Meta to $880, citing Muse's early growth as evidence the product could eventually generate meaningful revenue beyond Meta's advertising base.
