META: Meta Stock Climbs 6% as Strong Earnings Drive Investors to Bet on Zuck’s Vision

Right after Microsoft’s double beat, Meta followed up with its own above-consensus showing for the first quarter.

🚀 Meta Shares Go Up, Up

• Meta Platforms META joined the post-earnings party with a blowout first quarter that had investors racing to load up on the stock. Shares were up 6% in pre-market trading Thursday as the social media and AI powerhouse posted a beat on both the top and bottom line — and gave just enough future optimism to keep bulls buckled in for more. The results came right after Microsoft’s double beat.
• Earnings-per-share came in at $6.43, crushing Wall Street’s $5.23 estimate and up sharply from $4.71 a year ago. Revenue hit $42.3 billion, also above consensus calls of $41.3 billion, and up 16% year-over-year — a tidy flex in a market that’s been quick to punish even minor misses.
• The drivers? Solid user growth, ad impressions that met expectations, and most importantly — a 10% increase in ad pricing, more than double what analysts were eyeballing. By the looks of it, Meta’s ad engine is humming again, even amid broader digital ad turbulence.

💸 Capex Surge Raises Eyebrows, Zuck Stays Zen

• Capital expenditures hit $14 billion in the first quarter, putting the company on track for its previously guided $60–$65 billion annual spend. But here’s the kicker: Meta raised that guidance to $64–$72 billion, a move that shows the company is all-in on AI infrastructure.
• That pace means as much as $58 billion more could be spent over the next three quarters. Investors took a moment to sip their coffee, but didn’t spit it out — especially since CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivered his now-familiar AI masterplan with an added dose of confidence.
• He broke down Meta’s big bets into five AI baskets: “Improved advertising, more engaging experiences, business messaging, Meta AI, and AI devices.” “Even with our significant investments,” he said, “we don’t need to succeed in all of these areas to have a good ROI.”

📈 Revenue Outlook Tops Forecasts

• Second-quarter revenue guidance landed at $44 billion, slightly above estimates. Even more impressive: Meta lowered its full-year expense forecast — no small feat, considering headcount is up 11% year-over-year and 4% since December.
• Share buybacks were a bit lighter, down 11% from Q1 last year — and that’s after Meta took a breather in Q4. But with the stock surging and margins stable, most traders were willing to overlook the slowdown in repurchases in favor of the long game.