Meta Platforms, Inc. reported solid Q1 earnings; however, shares of the tech giant declined in premarket trading after Meta disclosed that its Reality Labs division had an operating loss of $4.03 billion despite generating $402 million in sales.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO, told investors, “We had a milestone quarter with strong momentum across our apps and the release of our first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs. We’re on track to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people.”
First Quarter 2026 Operational and Other Financial Highlights
- Family daily active people (DAP) – DAP was 3.56 billion on average for March 2026, an increase of 4% year-over-year. The slight decline in DAP on a quarter-over-quarter basis was driven by internet disruptions in Iran, as well as a restriction on access to WhatsApp in Russia.
- Ad impressions – Ad impressions delivered across Family of Apps increased by 19% year-over-year.
- Average price per ad – Average price per ad increased by 12% year-over-year.
- Revenue – Revenue was $56.31 billion, an increase of 33% year-over-year.
- Costs and expenses – Total costs and expenses were $33.44 billion, an increase of 35% year-over-year.
- Capital expenditures – Capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, were $19.84 billion.
- Capital return program – Dividend and dividend equivalent payments were $1.35 billion.
- Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities – Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $81.18 billion as of March 31, 2026.
- Cash flow – Cash flow from operating activities was $32.23 billion, and free cash flow was $12.39 billion.(1)
- Headcount – Headcount was 77,986 as of March 31, 2026, an increase of 1% year-over-year.
In further CEO commentary, Zuckerberg said:
“We anticipate 2026 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, to be in the range of $125-145 billion, increased from our prior range of $115-135 billion. This reflects our expectations for higher component pricing this year and, to a lesser extent, additional data center costs to support future year capacity.”
“Lastly, we continue to monitor active legal and regulatory matters, including headwinds in the EU and the U.S. that could significantly impact our business and financial results. For example, we continue to see scrutiny on youth-related issues and have additional trials scheduled for this year in the U.S., which may ultimately result in a material loss.”
By CEO NA Editorial Staff
