Meta Platforms is set to report its Q2 earnings after the market close on Wednesday, July 29, under a cloud of investor pessimism driven by massive artificial intelligence spending and lackluster stock performance. Shares have fallen roughly 16% over the past 12 months, with only Microsoft lagging more among the Magnificent Seven, dropping 24% in the last year.
Disputed figures exist for Meta's year-to-date performance, with some sources indicating a decline of nearly 10% and others reporting more than 8%. The company's forward price-to-earnings ratio stands near 20.1x, below its three-year average of 23x, while the MarketBeat consensus price target is near $836, implying potential upside of over 30%.
Investors are divided over Meta's capital expenditure plans. One source claims Meta plans to spend upwards of $145 billion this year, largely on data center build-out. Another source reports that Meta raised its full-year capital expenditure guidance to a range of $125 billion to $145 billion. In Q2 alone, capital expenditures are set to increase 100% to $33.15 billion.
Meta's heavy spending comes as it remains the only hyperscaler without a cloud computing business. However, the company is reportedly exploring a $10 billion cloud computing deal with Anthropic. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told Bloomberg that Meta is exploring leasing out data center capacity to customers.
Meta recently debuted the Muse Spark 1.1 AI model with pricing at $1.25 per million input tokens and $4.25 per million output tokens, undercutting Anthropic's Opus 4.8 model, which charges $5 and $25 respectively. Analysts will watch for discussions of "cloud," "Ray-Ban," "silicon," and other keywords — Kalshi traders assign 90% odds that Meta management will say "cloud" on the earnings call as a matter of market speculation.
For Q2 2026, consensus estimates vary among sources. Bloomberg consensus estimates Meta EPS of $7.14 and revenue of $60.23 billion; Street consensus estimates GAAP EPS of $7.22 and revenue of $60.3 billion; analysts expect adjusted EPS of $7.20 and revenue of $60.21 billion. This compares to Meta's Q2 2025 results of $7.14 EPS and $47.51 billion revenue. Advertising revenue for Q2 is projected at $58.99 billion, up 26% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, peers Alphabet and Tesla plunged after their earnings — Tesla crashed over 14% on July 23, while Alphabet reported 82% year-over-year growth in its cloud business. Meta's Q1 2026 revenue rose 33% year-over-year, its fastest growth since 2021, but adjusted EPS benefited from an unusual tax benefit.
Updates
Following the release of its Q2 2026 earnings, Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading, subsequently falling 9% in premarket activity. The company's free cash flow also experienced a significant decline, dropping 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking the steepest slump recorded since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the Q2 2026 earnings report. Furthermore, the company's free cash flow experienced a significant 91% year-over-year decline to $784 million, marking its steepest drop since late 2022. Additionally, the stock saw a 9% decrease during premarket trading.
Meta's shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the company's Q2 2026 earnings report. Furthermore, Meta reported that its free cash flow for the quarter plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking the steepest decline in this metric since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading and a further 9% in premarket following the Q2 2026 earnings release. Additionally, the company reported that its free cash flow for the quarter fell 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking the steepest decline for the firm since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the company's Q2 2026 earnings report, with the stock further declining 9% in premarket trading. Additionally, Meta’s free cash flow saw a sharp 91% year-over-year drop to $784 million, marking the company's steepest decline in this metric since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the Q2 2026 earnings report. Furthermore, the company's free cash flow experienced a significant 91% year-over-year decline, falling to $784 million, marking the steepest drop in this metric since late 2022. Additionally, the stock saw a 9% decline in premarket trading.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the Q2 2026 earnings report. Furthermore, the company's free cash flow experienced a significant 91% year-over-year decline to $784 million, marking its steepest drop since late 2022. Additionally, the stock fell by 9% in subsequent premarket trading.
Meta's shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the company's Q2 2026 earnings report, with the stock further declining 9% in premarket trading. Additionally, Meta’s free cash flow experienced a significant 91% year-over-year drop to $784 million, marking the company's steepest decline in this metric since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the company's Q2 2026 earnings report, with the stock subsequently falling an additional 9% in premarket trading. The company's free cash flow for the second quarter plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking the steepest decline for the firm since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the Q2 2026 earnings report. Furthermore, the company's free cash flow experienced a significant 91% year-over-year decline to $784 million, marking its steepest slump since late 2022.
Following the Q2 2026 earnings report, Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading and subsequently fell 9% in premarket trading. The company's free cash flow experienced a 91% year-over-year decline to $784 million, marking its steepest drop since late 2022.
Meta's Q2 2026 earnings report revealed that free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking the steepest decline for the company since late 2022. Following the release, Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading and subsequently fell 9% in premarket activity.
Following the release of Q2 2026 earnings, Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading, later dropping 9% during premarket sessions. The company's free cash flow saw a significant 91% year-over-year decline to $784 million, marking the steepest slump since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the company's Q2 2026 earnings report. Furthermore, the company's free cash flow saw a significant year-over-year decline of 91%, reaching $784 million, marking the steepest drop in this metric since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the company's Q2 2026 earnings report. Furthermore, the company's free cash flow fell 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking the steepest decline in this metric since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading and subsequently fell 9% in premarket trading following the release of its Q2 2026 earnings report. The company's free cash flow also experienced a significant 91% year-over-year decline to $784 million, marking the steepest slump since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the company's Q2 2026 earnings report, with the stock further declining 9% in subsequent premarket trading. The company's free cash flow for the quarter fell 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking the steepest decline in this metric since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading and further dropped 9% in premarket following the Q2 2026 earnings release. The company's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking its steepest decline since late 2022.
Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading following the release of the company's Q2 2026 earnings report. Furthermore, the company reported a significant 91% year-over-year decline in free cash flow, which fell to $784 million, marking the steepest drop in this metric since late 2022.
Following the Q2 2026 earnings report, Meta shares plunged 7% in extended trading and subsequently fell 9% in premarket activity. The company's free cash flow experienced a significant 91% year-over-year decline to $784 million, marking the steepest slump recorded since late 2022.
Meta's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million in Q2 2026, marking its steepest slump since late 2022. Following the Q2 earnings report, the company's stock experienced volatility with intraday drops ranging from 7% in extended trading to 9% in premarket sessions.
Meta's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million in Q2 2026, marking its steepest slump since late 2022. Following the Q2 earnings report, Meta shares saw significant volatility, dropping 7% in extended trading and 9% in premarket sessions.
Meta's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million in Q2 2026, marking its steepest decline since late 2022. Following the Q2 earnings report, Meta shares faced volatility with reports of a 7% plunge in extended trading and a 9% drop in premarket trading.
Meta's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million in Q2 2026, marking its steepest decline since late 2022. Following the Q2 earnings report, Meta shares have faced volatility, dropping 9% in premarket trading and 7% in extended trading, though reports on the exact percentage of the plunge vary.
Meta's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million in Q2 2026, marking its steepest slump since late 2022. Amid this financial shift, shares have seen significant volatility, dropping 7% in extended trading and 9% in premarket trading following the Q2 earnings report.
Meta's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million in Q2 2026, marking its steepest slump since late 2022. Following the Q2 2026 earnings report, shares saw varied declines, dropping 7% in extended trading and 9% in premarket trading.
Meta's Q2 2026 earnings report revealed a 13.57% decline in net income to $15.848 billion and a 91% year-over-year drop in free cash flow to $784 million, marking its steepest slump since late 2022. Total costs and expenses spiked 55% to $42.03 billion, while operating margins compressed to 31% from 43%. Following the report, shares faced significant volatility, including an unverified 7% plunge in extended trading and a 9% drop in premarket sessions.
Meta reported Q2 2026 results showing a 55% surge in costs and expenses to $42.03 billion, alongside a 13.57% decline in net income to $15.848 billion. Operating margins compressed to 31% from 43% in the prior year, while free cash flow dropped 91% to $784 million. Following these results and guidance that fell short of expectations, multiple major financial institutions including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs lowered their price targets for the company's stock, which saw significant downward movement in after-hours and premarket trading.
Meta's Q2 2026 earnings report revealed a 13.57% drop in net income to $15.848 billion and a 91% year-over-year plunge in free cash flow to $784 million, the sharpest decline since late 2022. Costs and expenses spiked 55% to $42.03 billion, while the operating margin compressed to 31% from 43%. Following these results, Meta's stock experienced significant volatility, including a reported 7% plunge in extended trading and a 9% drop in premarket trading. Additionally, several major banks, including Barclays and Goldman Sachs, have lowered their price targets for the company.
Meta's Q2 2026 earnings report revealed a 13.57% drop in net income to $15.848 billion and a 55% surge in costs and expenses to $42.03 billion. The company's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking its steepest slump since late 2022, while operating margins compressed to 31% from 43%. Following the report, Meta's stock experienced significant volatility, including a reported 7% plunge in extended trading and a 9% drop in premarket trading.
Meta's Q2 2026 financial results revealed a 13.57% decrease in net income to $15.848 billion and a 55% spike in costs and expenses to $42.03 billion, while free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million. Following the report, the company's operating margin compressed to 31% from 43%, and multiple analysts, including Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo, have revised their price targets downward. While advertising revenue figures between $59.3 billion and $59.36 billion remain disputed, CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that current compute levels are insufficient to meet demand.
Meta's Q2 2026 earnings report revealed a 13.57% decline in net income to $15.848 billion, while total costs and expenses spiked 55% to $42.03 billion. Although advertising revenue and Reality Labs' loss figures remain disputed, the company's free cash flow plummeted 91% year-over-year to $784 million, marking its steepest slump since late 2022. Following these results, Meta's stock saw significant volatility, including a reported 7% plunge in extended trading and a 9% drop in premarket trading.
