Meta Platforms Inc topped projections for quarterly revenue and gave a strong forecast for the current period, boosted by a robust online advertising business that is making it possible for the company to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) at record levels this year.
The social-media company on Wednesday said first-quarter sales will be US$53.5 billion to US$56.5 billion, beating the US$51.3 billion average analyst estimate.
The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp said full-year capital expenditures will be US$115 billion to US$135 billion, exceeding the US$110.6 billion average analyst estimate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Photo: Ina Fassbender, AFP
In October last year, Microsoft chief financial officer Susan Li said that capital expenditures for this year were expected to be “notably larger” than last year, primarily due to infrastructure costs, spooking some investors. Capital expenditures last year topped US$72 billion, the company said on Wednesday.
Meta reported sales of US$59.9 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31, beating the US$58.4 billion that Wall Street expected on average on the strength of its advertising business. Meta executives have repeatedly said that the company’s AI investments are improving ad targeting and effectiveness.
The company made a profit of US$22.8 billion in the recently ended quarter, adding that it could take in as much as US$56.5 billion in the current quarter.
"We had strong business performance in 2025," Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in an earnings release.
Looking forward, Zuckerberg has committed publicly, including at a high-profile White House dinner, to spend US$600 billion in the US by 2028 to support AI technology, infrastructure and workforce expansion.
Meta shares gained as much as 11 percent in after-market trading after closing at US$668.73.
Meta’s virtual reality and AI-enabled hardware unit, known as Reality Labs, posted US$955 million in sales last quarter. The division continues to lose money. Reality Labs reported an operating loss of more than US$6 billion for the quarter, bringing its total 2025 losses to more than US$19 billion. Li said in a statement that she expects the unit to face similar losses in 2026.
Earlier this month, Meta cut about 10 percent of staff across Reality Labs as part of a move to shift resources away from some of the virtual reality products and into more AI-focused ventures, including its AI wearables, like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses.
NEW IDENTITY: Known for its software, India has expanded into hardware, with its semiconductor industry growing from US$38bn in 2023 to US$45bn to US$50bn India on Saturday inaugurated its first semiconductor assembly and test facility, a milestone in the government’s push to reduce dependence on foreign chipmakers and stake a claim in a sector dominated by China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened US firm Micron Technology Inc’s semiconductor assembly, test and packaging unit in his home state of Gujarat, hailing the “dawn of a new era” for India’s technology ambitions. “When young Indians look back in the future, they will see this decade as the turning point in our tech future,” Modi told the event, which was broadcast on his YouTube channel. The plant would convert
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People stand in a Pokemon store in Tokyo on Thursday. One of the world highest-grossing franchises is celebrated its 30th anniversary yesterday.
Zimbabwe’s ban on raw lithium exports is forcing Chinese miners to rethink their strategy, speeding up plans to process the metal locally instead of shipping it to China’s vast rechargeable battery industry. The country is Africa’s largest lithium producer and has one of the world’s largest reserves, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Zimbabwe already banned the export of lithium ore in 2022 and last year announced it would halt exports of lithium concentrates from January next year. However, on Wednesday it imposed the ban with immediate effect, leaving unclear what the lithium mining sector would do in the
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