Meta Platforms reported a sharp decline in free cash flow for the second quarter, even as revenue beat analyst expectations, as capital spending more than doubled. The company also published an opinion essay by CEO Mark Zuckerberg in The Wall Street Journal, arguing for broad access to superintelligence.
Financial results
Meta produced $31.86 billion in cash from operations during the quarter, and kept $784 million of that as free cash flow, according to the company. That represents a 91% drop from $8.55 billion a year earlier.
Decline in Meta's free cash flow year over year.
Revenue rose 28% to $60.80 billion, ahead of the roughly $60.2 billion analysts had modeled. Diluted earnings per share came in at $6.18, below consensus near $7.17, and operating margin fell to 31% from 43% a year earlier.
Capital spending reached $31.08 billion for the quarter, including principal payments on finance leases. That was more than double the $17.01 billion spent in the same quarter last year. While operating cash flow grew about 25% year over year, capital spending grew 83%.
Most of that capital spending went toward the data center buildout Zuckerberg has been assembling across the country. At $784 million in free cash flow on $60.80 billion of revenue, Meta kept about 1.3 cents of every dollar it took in.
Meta guided third-quarter revenue of $61 billion to $64 billion, placing the midpoint below the roughly $63.1 billion analysts had expected, according to CNBC. Shares fell close to 10% in extended trading, according to Investing.com. Meta is worth more than $1 trillion.
Zuckerberg's essay
Zuckerberg published the essay, titled 'The AI Future Is for Everyone,' on Tuesday, July 28. In it, he argued that individual empowerment drives prosperity, invention rather than automation is the point of superintelligence, and a balance of power is the foundation of safety.
The question is not whether superintelligence will exist, but who will have access to it.
