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How Meta Platforms (META) makes money: Q2 2026 revenue breakdown
US GAAP · $M · vs Q2 2025 · reported 07/29/2026
Meta Platforms, Inc., headquartered in Menlo Park, California, is an American multinational technology company and is one of the Big Tech companies. · Wikipedia
More about the company
Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads. The company also operates an advertising network for its own sites and third parties; as of 2023, advertising accounted for 97.8% of its total revenue.
Key growth driver: Free cash flow collapsed to $784M (from $8,549M) as capex surged to $31,082M, reflecting aggressive AI/data-center buildout even as operating cash flow grew 25%. · by the Q2 2026 report
How does Meta Platforms make money?
Meta Platforms brought in $60.8 billion of revenue in Q2 2026, up 28.0% year over year. The largest source was Family of Apps: $60.4 billion, or 99% of the total, followed by Reality Labs ($431M, 0.7%). Net income for the quarter was $15.8 billion, down 13.6% year over year.
Revenue by source, Q2 2026
- Family of Apps$60.4B · 99% · +28.0%
- Reality Labs$431M · 0.7% · +16.5%
Shares of $60.8B total revenue; changes are year over year, as reported. ≈ marks lines derived from disclosed totals. The same flows are drawn in the Sankey chart below.
When is META’s next earnings date?
Wednesday, November 4, 2026estimated
Meta Platforms (META) has not confirmed the date yet; Nov 4, 2026 is an estimate based on the company's past reporting schedule and may move once the date is announced. Consensus EPS forecast: $6.39 (12 analysts), vs $7.25 in the same quarter last year.
What time does META report? Usually after market close: the last 4 results releases reached the SEC at 4:03 pm, 4:05 pm, 4:04 pm, 4:08 pm ET.
Last report: Jul 29, 2026 (Q2 2026) — broken down in the Sankey chart below. Dates and consensus: Nasdaq / Zacks Investment Research; companies do reschedule. Who else reports this week →
All figures in $M.
Revenue
$60,801
+28.0%
Gross profit
$49,471
+26.7%
81% margin
Operating income
$18,775
−8.2%
31% margin
Net income
$15,848
−13.6%
EPS $6.18 · −13.4%
Verdict: revenue growth stayed strong at 28% on resilient ad pricing and volume, but a $2.4B legal charge and $1.18B severance expense drove costs up 55%, compressing operating margin to 31% and pulling net income down 14% year-over-year.
OCF $31,862M; capex incl. finance leases $31,082M; free cash flow $784M; dividends paid $1,353M; no buybacks this quarter; Q3'26 revenue guidance $61-64B; FY26 total expenses guided $165-169B.
Source and notation
* marks non-cash / ≈ estimated. Source: Meta Platforms press release / 10-Q (SEC EDGAR).
Open the chart as a PNG image ↗ · for sharing and presentations · free to reuse, CC BY 4.0
Heads-up
- net income fell 14% y/y in Q2 2026
Most likely because operating margin fell from 43% to 31% largely due to these one-off charges plus continued R&D scale-up (+67% y/y) tied to AI…; effective tax rate jumped from 11% to 16%, adding to the net income decline beyond the operating cost pressures. Based on the Q2 2026 report.
Company filings on SEC EDGAR ↗META earnings history: past report dates
| Jul 29, 2026 Wed | 4:03 pmafter market close | Jun 30, 2026 | $60.8B+28% y/y | $6.18−13% y/y |
| Apr 29, 2026 Wed | 4:05 pmafter market close | Mar 31, 2026 | $56.3B+33% y/y | $10.44+62% y/y |
| Jan 28, 2026 Wed | 4:04 pmafter market close | Dec 31, 2025 | ≈$59.9B+24% y/y | ≈$8.87+11% y/y |
| Oct 29, 2025 Wed | 4:08 pmafter market close | Sep 30, 2025 | $51.2B+26% y/y | $1.05−83% y/y |
| Jul 30, 2025 Wed | 4:13 pmafter market close | Jun 30, 2025 | $47.5B+22% y/y | $7.14+38% y/y |
| Apr 30, 2025 Wed | 4:16 pmafter market close | Mar 31, 2025 | $42.3B+16% y/y | $6.43+37% y/y |
| Jan 29, 2025 Wed | 4:47 pmafter market close | Dec 31, 2024 | ≈$48.4B+21% y/y | ≈$7.96+50% y/y |
| Oct 30, 2024 Wed | 4:08 pmafter market close | Sep 30, 2024 | $40.6B+19% y/y | $6.03+37% y/y |
How we count
Report date and time — when the company filed its results press release with the SEC (Form 8-K, Item 2.02); the regular session runs 9:30 am – 4:00 pm ET. Revenue and diluted EPS — the company’s XBRL filings, EPS adjusted for stock splits; ≈ — fourth quarter derived as full year minus three quarters. Source: SEC EDGAR.
Meta Platforms: 5-year financials
| 2025 | 200,966 | 83,276 | 60,458 | 46,109 | 5,324 |
| 2024 | 164,501 | 69,380 | 62,360 | 54,072 | 5,072 |
| 2023 | 134,902 | 46,751 | 39,098 | 44,068 | — |
| 2022 | 116,609 | 28,944 | 23,200 | 19,289 | — |
| 2021 | 117,929 | 46,753 | 39,370 | 38,993 | — |
$ millions, annual 10-K reports on SEC EDGAR (US GAAP).
How we calculate
Figures are the annual report lines as filed, no adjustments. Free cash flow is operating cash flow minus capital expenditures; dividends are cash paid to common shareholders during the year. “—” means the line isn’t in the filing.
Corporate governance
0/2systematically poor
How the company treats minority shareholders: 2 — well, 0 — systematically poorly.
More
- Apr 20262026 proxy: Mark Zuckerberg owns 99.8% of Class B shares (10 votes per share) and controls 60.8% of total voting power; the dual-class structure has no sunset. sec.gov ↗
- Jul 2019The SEC required Facebook to pay $100M for presenting the risk of user data misuse as hypothetical even though the company knew about Cambridge Analytica. sec.gov ↗
- Dec 2025Stock-based compensation for 2025 was $20.4B, about 10.2% of revenue; even so, the diluted share count fell 10.9% over 5 years thanks to buybacks. data.sec.gov ↗
- Jan 20262025 10-K: Class B holders, including Zuckerberg, control a majority of the vote; the shareholder class actions over Cambridge Analytica and the Haugen documents have not been settled. sec.gov ↗
Scoring: 2.0 −1.0 (criterion 7: Class B shares carry 10 votes with no sunset; Zuckerberg holds 99.8% of Class B and 60.8% of the vote) −1.0 (criterion 10: SEC 2019, $100M for misleading disclosure of data misuse risks — the "$100M and above" threshold) −0.5 (criterion 1: SBC of $20.4B = 10.2% of 2025 revenue, above the 10% threshold) = −0.5 → 0.0 (floored at zero)
- Share classes
- Class A (1 vote) and Class B (10 votes) with no sunset; Zuckerberg holds 99.8% of Class B and 60.8% of total voting power (2026 proxy); the company is a "controlled company."
- Dilution
- Diluted share count 2020→2025 −10.9% thanks to buybacks of $20–45B a year, but SBC is 10.2% of revenue (> 10%) — 0.5 deduction under the methodology's threshold.
- Disclosure
- Full 10-K/10-Q reporting; the 2019 episode of incomplete risk disclosure is accounted for under criterion 10.
- Dividends
- Dividends since 2024 ($2.00 → $2.10 per share), policy followed; buybacks every year.
- Lawsuits & regulators
- SEC 2019: $100M for misleading disclosure (Cambridge Analytica) — 1.0 deduction; shareholder suits over Cambridge Analytica and the Haugen documents are not settled — no deduction; a derivative suit was settled in 2025 in the company's favor ($190M, covered by insurance) — not a deduction; the FTC's $5B penalty (2019) was an industry/regulatory privacy matter, not a disclosure matter.
- Related parties
- No material related-party transactions in the 2026 proxy; spending on Zuckerberg's security and aircraft is disclosed as compensation.
How the score works · checked as of Sep 2026
Meta Platforms (META) earnings: FAQ
How does Meta Platforms make money?
Meta Platforms brought in $60.8 billion of revenue in Q2 2026, up 28.0% year over year. The largest source was Family of Apps: $60.4 billion, or 99% of the total, followed by Reality Labs ($431M, 0.7%). Net income for the quarter was $15.8 billion, down 13.6% year over year.
When is META's next earnings date?
Meta Platforms (META) has not confirmed the date yet; Nov 4, 2026 is an estimate based on its past reporting schedule.
What time does META report earnings?
Meta Platforms usually reports after market close: its latest results release was filed with the SEC at 4:03 pm ET on Jul 29, 2026.
When did META last report earnings?
Meta Platforms reported Q2 2026 results on Jul 29, 2026.
What is the EPS estimate for META's next earnings?
The consensus EPS forecast is $6.39 (12 analysts), vs $7.25 in the same quarter last year.
Where can I find Meta Platforms's financial statements?
On SEC EDGAR: quarterly reports (10-Q), the annual report (10-K) and earnings releases (8-K). The “Verified” badge next to the chart links to META's filings; this page breaks the latest report down in a Sankey chart.
What was META's net income in Q2 2026?
Meta Platforms reported net income of $15,848M for Q2 2026 (−13.6% year over year), under US GAAP.
Does Meta Platforms pay dividends?
Yes. In 2025, Meta Platforms paid $5,324M in dividends on its common stock, per its 10-K. Earlier years are in the five-year table above.
New to earnings reports? Start with how to read an earnings report.
How this page was made: the figures come from the company's own report on SEC EDGAR; the summary and nuances were drafted by our model from that report. Figures checked against the filing on 08/25/2026. How we make the breakdowns · Report an error
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