Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $64.601 billion, up 26% year over year, according to its Q3 2026 earnings release.Diluted EPS was $3.83, weighed down by a $9.89 biMeta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $64.601 billion, up 26% year over year, according to its Q3 2026 earnings release.Diluted EPS was $3.83, weighed down by a $9.89 bi
Why Did Meta (META) Stock Rise After Q3 2026 Earnings? Revenue Beat Despite a $9.9B Legal Charge
Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $64.601 billion, up 26% year over year, according to its Q3 2026 earnings release.
Diluted EPS was $3.83, weighed down by a $9.89 billion legal charge; excluding that charge, Meta says EPS would have been $7.40.
Shares rose in after-hours trading on October 21, as investors looked past the one-off charge to strong ad growth, a narrowed capex range and a new Class C share plan.
On MEXC, the METAUSDT perpetual contract jumped about 5.2% in the first hour after the release and was up about 2.4% after five hours.
Key Takeaways
- Revenue: $64.601 billion, up 26% year over year, ahead of the roughly $63.4 billion analysts had expected.
- Legal charge: $9.89 billion tied to an August 2026 agreement with 52 state attorneys general over teen mental health litigation; operating margin fell to 20% from 40%.
- Ads: Ad impressions rose 10% and the average price per ad rose 14%; Family daily active people averaged 3.64 billion in September.
- Outlook: Q4 revenue guidance of $73–76 billion; 2026 capex narrowed to $135–145 billion from $130–145 billion.
- New share class: A one-time dividend of one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share, which Meta expects to act like a two-for-one split.
- MEXC reaction: METAUSDT moved from 698.65 to 735.00 USDT in the first hour and settled at 715.17 USDT after five hours, with first-hour turnover about 66 times the same hour a day earlier and funding unchanged at 0%.
The Legal Charge Behind the EPS Drop
The charge relates to an agreement Meta reached in August 2026 with 52 state attorneys general, under which payments can total up to about $18.59 billion.
Meta booked $9.89 billion of it in Q3 as general and administrative expense.
That pushed operating income down 37% to $12.988 billion, but Meta says operating income would have been $22.88 billion without the charge.
Net income still rose 264% to $9.860 billion, because the year-earlier quarter carried an unusually high tax provision that lifted its effective tax rate to 87%.
Ad Business Still Drives Growth
Family of Apps generated $64.158 billion of revenue and $17.117 billion of operating income, after absorbing the legal charge.
Growth came from both volume and pricing: ad impressions rose 10% and the average price per ad rose 14% year over year.
Reality Labs posted $443 million of revenue and a $4.129 billion operating loss, narrower than the $4.432 billion loss a year earlier.
Meta expects Reality Labs losses of $18–19 billion for 2026, narrowing to around $15 billion in 2027.
AI Spending and Cash Flow
Q3 capital expenditures, including finance lease principal payments, reached $34.91 billion.
Operating cash flow was $32.79 billion, leaving free cash flow at negative $2.12 billion, compared with positive $10.63 billion a year earlier.
Meta repurchased no shares in the quarter, paid $1.36 billion in dividends and ended September with $82.45 billion in cash and marketable securities against $80.92 billion of long-term debt.
For 2026, Meta narrowed its capex range to $135–145 billion and raised its total expense outlook to $175–179 billion to include the legal charge.
Meta said it is still developing its 2027 budget but expects to keep investing aggressively in its core business and AI.
What the Class C Shares Mean
Meta's board approved a new, publicly listed, non-voting Class C common stock, effective in January 2027.
Each Class A and Class B shareholder will receive one Class C share per share held through a one-time stock dividend, with record and payment dates still to be set.
Meta says it expects the Class A share price to reflect the effect of a two-for-one split after the dividend is paid, and that voting power will not change.
The company lists capital raising, employee compensation and potential acquisitions among the uses for the new share class.
How META Futures Reacted on MEXC
Data snapshot: MEXC, METASTOCK_USDT hourly bars, index-price bars and funding history, retrieved 02:00 UTC on October 22, 2026. Figures will differ at later times.
Chart: METAUSDT hourly closing price (top) and hourly turnover (bottom) on MEXC, October 21, 2026, 4:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. ET.
The window starts with the hourly bar that opened at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on October 21 (20:00 UTC), the window in which the results were published.
Price: METAUSDT rose from 698.65 USDT at the close to 735.00 USDT an hour later, a gain of about 5.2%, then gave back part of the move to finish the five-hour window at 715.17 USDT, up about 2.4%.
The contract's index price rose about 2.3% over the same five hours, so the contract tracked its reference price rather than running ahead of it.
Trading activity: turnover in the first hour after the close was about 3.56 million USDT, compared with about 54,000 USDT in the same hour a day earlier and an average of about 162,000 USDT per hour over the preceding 24 hours.
Across the five post-earnings hours, turnover totalled about 4.99 million USDT, more than the roughly 3.29 million USDT traded from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET that day.
Premium to index: the contract stayed within a few basis points of its index price both before and after the release, between about −3 and +6 basis points.
Funding: METAUSDT settles funding every eight hours; every settlement over the past two days, including the first one after the release (00:00 UTC on October 22), was 0%.
The cost of holding a long position did not rise, even as trading activity spiked.
Following META Through MEXC
The METAUSDT perpetual contract on MEXC provides a derivatives market to follow Meta around earnings and outside Nasdaq hours.
A useful assessment pairs price changes with funding, trading activity and the premium to index, rather than reading a contract move as the stock's performance.
Meta exposure is also available on MEXC spot through METAON, a tokenized representation of Meta stock.
For eligible users considering share ownership, MEXC Real Stocks is a separate product route; availability and supported securities should be checked directly.
METAUSDT perpetual contracts do not confer shareholder rights, including any right to the Class C stock dividend, and carry funding, leverage and liquidation risks.
FAQ
Why did Meta stock rise after Q3 2026 earnings?
Revenue grew 26% to $64.601 billion and beat expectations, ad pricing and volume both rose, and the EPS drop came from a one-off $9.89 billion legal charge.
What was Meta's Q3 2026 EPS without the legal charge?
Meta says diluted EPS would have been $7.40 excluding the $9.89 billion charge, compared with reported EPS of $3.83.
Is Meta doing a stock split?
Not formally. Meta will issue one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share, which it expects to have the effect of a two-for-one split on the Class A price.
How did META futures react on MEXC?
METAUSDT rose about 5.2% in the first hour after the October 21 close and was up about 2.4% after five hours, in line with its index price, while funding stayed at 0%.
Do METAUSDT holders receive the Class C shares?
No. METAUSDT is a perpetual derivative and carries no shareholder rights, so it does not receive stock dividends.
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