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Meta Platforms reported third-quarter 2026 results in a release dated 21 October 2026. Revenue reached $64.6 billion, up 26% from $51.2 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Net income was $9.86 billion, compared with $2.71 billion in the third quarter of 2025, a rise of 264%. Diluted earnings per share came to $3.83, up 265% from $1.05. The release compares each line with the prior-year quarter, so the year-over-year percentages are the company's own framing.
The quarter also carries a large charge. Meta booked $9.89 billion tied to an agreement it reached in August 2026 with 52 attorneys general. The part of the release read for this article links the charge to that agreement but does not spell out every term, so the full scope of the settlement remains unclear from the company's text alone.
Capital spending is the line that matters most for the AI build-out. Meta now expects full-year 2026 capital expenditures of $135 billion to $145 billion, including principal payments on finance leases. The company says this narrows its earlier outlook of $130 billion to $145 billion. The low end moved up and the high end stayed where it was, so the floor for spending rose. Some third-party coverage describes the guidance as unchanged, which fits the top of the range but not the bottom.
The release also sets out a new share structure. Meta's board approved a publicly listed class of non-voting Class C common stock, with the amended certificate of incorporation set to take effect on 19 January 2027. The board declared a one-time stock dividend of one Class C share for each Class A and Class B share. That dividend becomes payable only after the certificate takes effect, and the record and payment dates have not yet been set. Meta expects the Class A share price to reflect a two-for-one stock split once the dividend is paid. The company says the dividend leaves every shareholder's voting power unchanged.
Shareholders approved the charter amendment by written consent. Class A shares will stay on Nasdaq, and Meta intends to list Class C there as well. Alongside the share changes, Meta entered a Founder Alignment Agreement with Mark Zuckerberg. Its listed subject areas are his sales of the Class C shares he receives, his service at the company, and any future Class C stock dividends. The release does not give the agreement's terms in the portion read here.
Why it matters: the non-voting class lets the company issue economic stake while leaving voting power unchanged. A two-for-one split would change the nominal price per share but not the company's market value on its own. For cost watchers, the narrower capex range means Meta is signalling that the lower bound of its AI infrastructure spending is higher than it was. One TradingKey analysis reported that shares rose briefly by more than 4% after hours on the release; that figure comes from a single secondary site and has not been checked against exchange data.
Several things remain unknown. The record and payment dates for the Class C dividend are still to be set. The release does not give the full terms of the Zuckerberg agreement. It is also not clear from the release how much of the capex range depends on finance-lease accounting, or whether further payments may follow the $9.89 billion charge. Investors who want the detail should read the release and the earnings call transcript together, since the call may cover points the press release leaves out.
Sources for this article are the company's own third-quarter release, with secondary coverage from TradingKey and StockTitan used only for context. Nothing here is investment advice.
Sources
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