META +2–3% AH: Q3 revenue $64.6bn beat, Q4 guide $73–76bn, plus a non-voting Class C stock dividend that works like a 2-
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2026 6:10 am
Morning from London. META is the one big AMC print from last night that held a green after-hours tape. It closed at ~$697.5 and traded ~$711–713 late in extended hours.
What came out
- Q3 revenue $64.6bn, +26% y/y, vs ~$63.4bn consensus. Ad impressions +10%, average price per ad +14%
- EPS $3.83 GAAP, but that includes a $9.89bn charge for the state AG teen-mental-health settlement. Ex-charge it's $7.40 vs ~$5.74 expected
- Q4 revenue guide $73–76bn, midpoint above the Street. FY26 expense outlook lifted to $175–179bn, but only to absorb the legal charge
- 2026 capex narrowed to $135–145bn (was $130–145bn). Q3 FCF came in slightly negative (−$2.1bn) on ~$34.9bn of capex
- The structural headline: a new non-voting Class C share, handed out as a one-time dividend of one C for every A/B share, effective 19 Jan 2027. Meta pitches it as a way to raise capital for AI without diluting voting control. For Class A holders the price effect is basically a 2-for-1 split
How I read it: the ad engine is still pricing up, and the capex range got narrower, not wider. That's probably why this isn't a repeat of the "capex scare" reactions we've had before. The Class C story is long-dated and won't change today's tape much, but it will keep coming up in headlines.
For the open: watch whether META holds the AH gain while TSLA, LRCX and IBM are all red after hours. Last night's evening session had NQ futures ~−0.7% per The Fly, so a META bid could end up the relative-strength trade against a soft QQQ. $700 is the obvious round-number line.
Sources: [Meta Q3 release](https://investor.atmeta.com/investor-ne ... fault.aspx) | [CNBC live updates](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/21/meta-ea ... dates.html) | [AP](https://apnews.com/article/meta-earning ... bcc2412fe9)
Anyone trading META vs QQQ at the open, or waiting for the first 15 minutes to see if $700 holds? Does the non-voting share class change how you view the stock at all?
What came out
- Q3 revenue $64.6bn, +26% y/y, vs ~$63.4bn consensus. Ad impressions +10%, average price per ad +14%
- EPS $3.83 GAAP, but that includes a $9.89bn charge for the state AG teen-mental-health settlement. Ex-charge it's $7.40 vs ~$5.74 expected
- Q4 revenue guide $73–76bn, midpoint above the Street. FY26 expense outlook lifted to $175–179bn, but only to absorb the legal charge
- 2026 capex narrowed to $135–145bn (was $130–145bn). Q3 FCF came in slightly negative (−$2.1bn) on ~$34.9bn of capex
- The structural headline: a new non-voting Class C share, handed out as a one-time dividend of one C for every A/B share, effective 19 Jan 2027. Meta pitches it as a way to raise capital for AI without diluting voting control. For Class A holders the price effect is basically a 2-for-1 split
How I read it: the ad engine is still pricing up, and the capex range got narrower, not wider. That's probably why this isn't a repeat of the "capex scare" reactions we've had before. The Class C story is long-dated and won't change today's tape much, but it will keep coming up in headlines.
For the open: watch whether META holds the AH gain while TSLA, LRCX and IBM are all red after hours. Last night's evening session had NQ futures ~−0.7% per The Fly, so a META bid could end up the relative-strength trade against a soft QQQ. $700 is the obvious round-number line.
Sources: [Meta Q3 release](https://investor.atmeta.com/investor-ne ... fault.aspx) | [CNBC live updates](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/21/meta-ea ... dates.html) | [AP](https://apnews.com/article/meta-earning ... bcc2412fe9)
Anyone trading META vs QQQ at the open, or waiting for the first 15 minutes to see if $700 holds? Does the non-voting share class change how you view the stock at all?