Meta Exceeds Q2 Expectations with Strong AI-Driven Growth

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) delivered a robust second-quarter performance, surpassing analyst estimates with earnings per share of $7.14 on $47.5 billion revenue. The social media giant's stock surged 8% post-announcement as it projected Q3 revenue between $47.5-$50.5 billion, exceeding Wall Street's $46.2 billion forecast.

The company's advertising business outperformed with $46.5 billion in revenue against $44.07 billion expectations. While Reality Labs continued its expected losses at $4.5 billion, the figure came in slightly better than projected. Meta's aggressive AI investments are bearing fruit, marked by strategic hires including former OpenAI researcher Shengjia Zhao to lead its Superintelligence Lab.

This earnings beat comes amidst Meta's ongoing transformation into an AI-first company, having invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI and recruited top talent from GitHub, Apple, and other tech leaders. The market response suggests confidence in Zuckerberg's vision to position Meta at the forefront of artificial intelligence development.