Meta beats on revenue and forecasts more growth, but U.S. futures slip as the tech rally cools
Revenue rose 26% on advertising strength; S&P 500 futures fell about 1% in early trading.
Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion on Wednesday, up 26% from a year earlier and above analyst estimates, helped by advertising growth. The company forecast current-quarter revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion, above expectations at the midpoint. Earnings came in at $3.83 a share, a figure that was not directly comparable to analyst estimates because of a large legal settlement.
Meta shares rose about 2.5% in extended trading Wednesday evening, then gave back those gains overnight and were little changed to slightly lower in early premarket trading, as some investors focused on rising AI spending commitments, including a raised AI spending outlook and a plan to issue non-voting Class C shares. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said more than 10 million people in the U.S. and Canada have set up the company's Muse personal AI agents.
U.S. index futures fell in early European trading: S&P 500 futures were down about 1%, Nasdaq 100 futures about 1.7%, and Dow futures about 0.6%. Tesla fell premarket after its report (see our Tesla story), and Lam Research reportedly fell about 7% after hours on a weaker-than-expected forecast. Results are due Thursday from Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin and Honeywell. For Wednesday's close, see the Dusk Ledger.
