Meta Reported a 33 Percent Jump in Revenue in Q1

Meta Platforms posted a milestone quarter, as revenue climbed 33% year-on-year to $56.3 billion in 1Q26. The main growth driver was the advertising growth across its apps and momentum in AI infrastructure investments.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the results were driven by growth across apps and the release of their first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, adding that the company is on track to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people. In attempts to keep up with fellow tech giants, Meta raised its capex forecast for 2026. It is now ranging between $125 billion and $145 billion, up from $115 billion to $135 billion, citing higher component prices and plans to build out additional AI infrastructure to support future capacity. Rival Alphabet expects capex to hit $185 billion, while Microsoft expects to spend $190 billion.

On an earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended its investment strategy, arguing that Meta is still developing how its AI products will evolve and acknowledged that there is not a very precise plan yet for every product. Meta’s apps business, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, together hit $55.9 billion in revenue, up from $41.9 billion. Ad revenue made up the bulk of revenue, rising 33% to $55 billion.

However, daily active users across Meta’s apps marked their first quarterly decline as the company blamed pressure from regional disruptions, including internet outages in Iran and WhatsApp service restrictions in Russia. Meta’s Reality Labs division remained in the red, posting an operating loss of $4 billion. Revenue from the unit was $402 million, down around 2.4%. The unit houses Meta’s VR and AR efforts as part of Zuckerberg’s Metaverse ambitions.

Looking ahead, the company maintained its full-year expense outlook of between $162 billion and $169 billion. Still, it warned of ongoing regulatory scrutiny in the US and EU over youth-related issues, pointing to potential material loss tied to legal proceedings. The results come as Meta slashes its workforce as part of its AI strategy, with Bloomberg reporting last week that the company plans to lay off around 8,000 employees, or 10% of its total workforce.

Meta CFO Susan Li confirmed the layoffs on an earnings call, stating that further reductions are expected later this year as the company reshapes teams around AI adoption. “We don’t really know what the optimal size of a company will be in the future,” Li said. “There’s a lot of change right now, with AI capabilities advancing rapidly.”