Meta's ad The future is for everyone.
Meta reported a 27% rise in revenue to $US60.80 billion for the June quarter but costs, including investment in artificial intelligence, jumped by more than half.
Ad impressions increased by 14% and the average price per ad across the platforms including Facebook and Instagram was up 12% compared to last year.
Total costs and expenses increased 55% to $US42.03 billion, including $US2.40 billion of charges related to legal proceedings and $US1.18 billion of severance expenses in connection with job cuts in May.
Net income, or profit, fell 13.57% to $US15,848 billion.
Headcount was down just 1% to 75,472 but that will be down by about 8,000 employees in the September quarter when the cuts take effect.
Meta expects total revenue for the September quarter to be in the range of $US61 billion to $US64 billion.
"AI is accelerating our core business today, powering our next generation of products, and opening the door to entirely new enterprise opportunities," said founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
"The results are already showing, and I'm optimistic about the potential ahead."
Emarketer senior analyst Minda Smiley said Meta’s strong revenue growth is once again be overshadowed by its capital expenditure.
"Even though Meta didn’t raise projections, that won’t stop investors from pressing for more information regarding plans for a potential computing business, and any other details on how Meta is thinking about monetising AI," Smiley said.
"Earnings come just as Meta pushes out an ad campaign and media blitz that aim to clarify Meta’s stance and goals regarding AI.
"It’s not surprising that Zuckerberg wants to come out with a more cohesive message around the company’s AI ambitions, especially as Meta tries to carve out its own lane.
"But the optimistic, positive tone he’s striking stands in stark contrast to the negative sentiment that’s building toward social media companies over claims that they’ve harmed and addicted kids. This juxtaposition could make it more difficult for Meta to build credibility in an area where it’s already a laggard.
"In the past quarter, Meta has rolled out subscriptions, several new apps, and a new line of smart glasses. It’s clear that Meta is plotting its next chapter with AI at the forefront.
"But to what extent it has a real vision in mind is up for debate. These continuous rollouts increasingly feel more like the company is throwing spaghetti at the wall instead of rallying around a sustainable way forward."
In Australia, Will Easton, managing director of Meta ANZ, said it's been a landmark quarter for AI innovation at Meta.
"We shipped Muse Spark 1.1, which made Meta AI significantly smarter across our Family of Apps, launched Meta Glasses, and introduced the Meta AI business agent to help advertisers automate and optimise their campaigns," he said.
"These products show that our investments in AI are having an impact across our business and will improve the capabilities of our AI, and I believe this will lead to new offerings from Meta to service enterprise customers and advertisers of all sizes.”
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