Meta beat revenue and earnings estimates last quarter, but active user numbers declined amid Iran’s ongoing internet blackouts.
Revenue was up 33% year-over-year to US$56.31 billion, above LSEG-compiled estimates of $55.45 billion. Earnings per share were $10.44, or $7.31 excluding a $8.03 billion tax benefit, passing estimates of $6.79.
“We had a milestone quarter with strong momentum across our apps and the release of our first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta reported an average of 3.56 billion daily active users during the quarter. This is a 4% increase from one year ago, but a 5% drop from the previous quarter and below estimates of 3.62 billion.
Zuckerberg credited the decline to the internet outages imposed by Iran’s government since January, and to the ban of WhatsApp Russia’s government ordered in February. This is the first time daily active users have fallen since Meta began reporting the metric.
Meta’s income from operations rose 30% to $22.87 billion. Capital expenditures were $19.84 billion, up from $13.68 billion a year ago but under StreetAccount estimates of $27.57 billion.
The company raised its 2026 capex guidance, and now expects $125-145 billion across the year. Its prior outlook was $115-135 billion.
Second quarter revenue will be $58-61 billion, according to Meta's forecast, similar to estimates of $59.5 billion.
Legal and regulatory issues could dent the company’s financial results, however, according to CFO Susan Li. “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.”
Meta (NASDAQ: META) shares closed 0.3% lower and dropped 7.1% after-hours following the earnings release. Its market cpaitalisation is $1.70 trillion.
