In an earnings season filled with AI headlines, one company just delivered the numbers to back them up.
Meta surged more than 10 percent in after-hours trading after reporting one of its strongest quarters ever.
Revenue beat expectations by nearly $3 billion. Profits crushed forecasts. And forward guidance shows no sign of slowing down.
But this wasn’t just about ads and earnings per share. This quarter was about momentum. Momentum in AI, momentum in hardware, and momentum in long-term vision.
Mark Zuckerberg has staked the future of Meta on “personal superintelligence,” and after last night’s call, Wall Street is starting to believe the hype.
The story is not just Facebook and Instagram. It’s AI assistants, video-generation models, Ray-Ban smart glasses, and a growing push into monetizing WhatsApp.
This is a platform in transition, and the next leg of growth may be broader than most investors realize.
Strong Seven (Sponsored)
The stock market is buzzing with opportunities, and I’ve got the insider scoop just for you.
I’ve handpicked the Top Seven Stocks for this quarter, offering you a clear roadmap for growth as the year progresses.
Here’s what makes this guide indispensable:
High-Growth Sectors: Key industries poised to boom this summer.
In-Depth Analysis: Simplified insights to make wise investment decisions.
Expert Picks: Data-driven, not just guesses, for reliable potential.
This isn’t merely a list; it’s your chance to seize the market’s hottest opportunities before they pass you by.
Another Quarter, Another Beat
Meta reported $47.52 billion in Q2 revenue, up 22 percent year over year and more than $2.7 billion ahead of consensus. Earnings per share came in at $7.14, easily topping estimates of $5.92.
The core advertising business remains dominant, generating $46.56 billion in revenue. Ad prices rose 9 percent, and volume continues to expand, driven by Meta’s AI-optimized tools like Advantage+, Generative Ads, and Andromeda.
CFO Susan Li noted that nearly 2 million advertisers are now using Meta’s AI ad creative tools and seeing improved results.
Meta’s user base also keeps climbing. The company reported 3.48 billion daily active users across its family of apps, up from 3.43 billion last quarter.
Operating income increased to $18.34 billion, and margins improved despite heavy AI investment and rising compensation costs. Total expenses rose 12 percent to $27.08 billion, in line with forecasts.
Looking ahead, Meta guided for Q3 revenue between $47.5 billion and $50.5 billion, well above Wall Street’s estimate of $46.1 billion.
The company also raised the low end of its capex outlook, now expecting to spend $66 to $72 billion this year.
Quiet Surge (Sponsored)
While many are busy chasing the usual AI trends, a bigger opportunity is quietly brewing—and most are missing it.
Imagine a major shift in how and where AI is built, opening up incredible wealth opportunities for those in the know.
I’ve found 9 AI companies primed to lead this change.
These aren’t the tired “AI hype” stocks; they’re companies with real US operations, proven revenue growth, and deep AI integration.
I’ve put all the details in a FREE report: "Top 9 AI Stocks For This Month."
Inside you’ll discover:
A hidden chip maker set to power domestic AI manufacturing
A cloud provider ready for explosive growth due to relaxed regulations
A data analytics leader positioned to win government contracts
The smart money is watching—and once they move, these stocks could soar.
Don’t be the last to catch this wave.
Act fast - opportunity waits for no one!
Action Plan
• Buy zone: Shares closed at $695.21 pre-earnings and popped to $776.10 after-hours. While that’s a big move, long-term investors could still see value, especially under $800, particularly if forward EPS estimates continue to rise.
• Catalysts to watch:
Monetization progress from WhatsApp and Threads
AI product updates, including Meta AI and the rollout of smart glasses
Infrastructure developments tied to Meta’s Superintelligence Lab
New partnerships for AI compute, including data center co-financing
• Valuation: Meta now trades at about 27 times trailing earnings, but given its 36 percent earnings growth and margin expansion, the multiple may still prove reasonable if AI monetization accelerates.
Want to make sure you never miss a stock recommendation?
Elite Trade Club now offers text alerts — so you get trending stocks and market-moving news sent straight to your phone before the bell. Email’s great. Texts are faster.
Strategic Positioning: More Than a Social Media Company
Meta is more than a social network. It is fast becoming a full-stack AI company, with investments in data centers, silicon, large language models, user-facing apps, and immersive hardware.
Zuckerberg’s vision for personal superintelligence is built on multiple fronts:
Meta AI, the company’s chatbot assistant, is nearing 1 billion users.
Smart glasses, developed with Ray-Ban, are accelerating in adoption.
Reality Labs lost $4.53 billion in Q2, but remains core to Meta’s wearable AI ambitions.
Meta recently invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI and hired its founder Alexandr Wang to co-lead its Superintelligence Lab.
Internal AI systems are now training themselves, according to Zuckerberg, marking a shift from tool development to full AI platform building.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp, used by more than 2 billion (with a “B”) people, remains mostly unmonetized. That’s a massive lever the company hasn’t even begun to fully pull.
Ranked First (Sponsored)
Every once in a while, timing and research align — and the result is a tight list of opportunities with immediate potential.
That’s exactly what’s inside this free report, featuring 7 of the strongest stock setups for the next 30 days.
These aren’t picked at random.
Each one cleared a tough set of criteria, screened from thousands of stocks based on earnings strength and momentum indicators.
Only the top 5% of our data made the first cut.
Then our analysts went even further — narrowing it down to the 7 companies with the most compelling case for a breakout.
This exclusive report is 100% free, but the window for optimal entry won’t stay open forever.
Click here now to claim your copy before the next wave of movement begins.
*This is a free resource from Zacks.com. Use of this material is subject to Zacks' Terms of Service.
*Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing involves risk. Nothing in this material is investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Returns are based on hypothetical models with no transaction costs. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index.
Outlook: From Momentum to Platform Shift
Meta’s capital expenditures are massive, but intentional. The company spent over $17 billion this quarter alone, primarily on AI infrastructure.
CFO Susan Li confirmed Meta is exploring external financing models to co-develop new data centers, a move that could de-risk future spending.
While critics once feared that Meta’s moonshot AI ambitions would become a cash burn liability, Q2 results show that advertising strength continues to pay the bills.
Zuckerberg says Meta is building an elite, “talent-dense” AI team, and recent hiring activity backs that up.
The company sees AI not just as a feature, but as the foundation of future consumer engagement, search, shopping, and entertainment.
The strategy here is long-term: build the tools, own the hardware, capture the infrastructure, and monetize through both ad dollars and new direct-to-consumer experiences.
With guidance pointing higher, margins stable, and user engagement rising, the business appears ready for the next phase of expansion.
Risks to Watch
1. Spending sustainability
With capex projected to hit as high as $72 billion this year, and total expenses between $114 and $118 billion, Meta must continue delivering top-line growth to justify these investments.
2. Reality Labs skepticism
While AI glasses are gaining traction, Reality Labs continues to post multi-billion-dollar losses. The market is still unconvinced about the pace and scale of returns.
3. Execution risk in AI infrastructure
Meta is building a full-stack AI ecosystem, from chips to chatbots. Any delay or underperformance in its Superintelligence Lab or hardware platforms could affect investor sentiment.
4. Competition from Apple and OpenAI
Apple’s Vision Pro and OpenAI’s ecosystem could eat into Meta’s early AI momentum. The company will need to keep innovating at a breakneck pace.
5. Regulatory and privacy headwinds
Meta remains under scrutiny from U.S. and international regulators. AI-generated content and consumer data policies could create new liabilities.
Urgent Edge (Sponsored)
How would it feel to double your money by this time next year?
From thousands of stocks, only 5 have emerged with the best chance to gain +100% or more in the months ahead.
You can see all five of these tickers — absolutely free.
Just download the newly released 5 Stocks Set to Double special report from Zacks.
While we can’t guarantee future performance, previous editions of this report have delivered gains of +175%, +498%, and even +673¹.
The newest picks could be just as profitable.
Act fast — this opportunity ends at MIDNIGHT TONIGHT.
Download the report now, absolutely free
*Results may not represent all stock picks and may reflect partially closed positions. Investing involves risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. This is not financial advice.
Final Take
Meta has always had the ambition. Now it has the results to match.
This quarter was a turning point in how the market sees Meta’s future, not as a legacy social media company, but as an emerging force in AI infrastructure, assistant platforms, and intelligent hardware.
Zuckerberg’s vision for personal superintelligence is bold, expensive, and a little polarizing. But Meta just passed its first major Wall Street test.
With user engagement rising, ad tools performing, and AI investments beginning to show scale, the company is laying the foundation for something much bigger.
There is still plenty of execution risk ahead. But the vision is becoming clearer, and the payoff, if Meta succeeds, could be more massive than anyone expects.
That’s all for today. Thank you for reading. If you have any feedback, please reply to this email.
Best Regards,
— Adam Garcia
Elite Trade Club
Click here to get our daily newsletter straight to your cell for free.
P.S. Just like this newsletter, it's 100% free*, and you can stop at any time by replying STOP.
