Meta Platforms, Inc.
META10-Q,quarter ended Sep 30, 2025,filed Oct 30, 2025,Original on SEC.gov (opens in a new tab)
3 of 3 checkable figures match the filing, 4 of 4 risk excerpts located in the filing text
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The Print
Meta reported third-quarter 2025 revenue of $51.24B, up 26% YoY, but net income fell to $2.71B ($1.05 diluted EPS) after a $15.93B one-time income tax charge tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Revenue increased 26% to $51.24B, which management attributes to an increase in advertising revenue; on a constant currency basis revenue would have increased 25%. Income from operations rose 18% to $20.53B, driven by higher advertising revenue partially offset by increases in costs and expenses that management attributes primarily to employee compensation, infrastructure costs, and legal-related costs. Net income fell to $2.71B from $15.69B because the provision for income taxes rose to $18.95B from $2.13B, reflecting a one-time $15.93B charge related to implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- Revenue rose 26% YoY to $51.24B, with advertising revenue of $50.08B up 26% on a 14% increase in ad impressions and a 10% increase in average price per ad.
- Income from operations increased 18% to $20.53B, but the effective tax rate rose to 87% from 12%, producing net income of $2.71B versus $15.69B a year earlier.
- Capital expenditures including principal payments on finance leases were $19.37B in the quarter; management guides 2025 capital expenditures of approximately $70B to $72B and expects significant growth in 2026.
- Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $44.45B at September 30, 2025, a decrease of $33.37B from December 31, 2024.
Results That Matter
- Revenue
- Current period
- $51.2B
- Prior period
- $40.6B
- Change
- +26.2%
Management attributes the increase to an increase in advertising revenue; revenue on a constant currency basis would have increased 25% compared to the third quarter of 2024. - Income from operations
- Current period
- $20.5B
- Prior period
- $17.4B
- Change
- +18.4%
The increase was driven by an increase in advertising revenue, partially offset by an increase in costs and expenses. - Net income
- Current period
- $2.7B
- Prior period
- $15.7B
- Change
- −82.7%
The decline reflects a provision for income taxes of $18,954M versus $2,134M, including a one-time income tax charge of $15.93 billion accrued in the third quarter of 2025 related to the implementation as of the enactment date of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. - Diluted EPS
- Current period
- $1.05
- Prior period
- $6.03
- Change
- −82.6%
Diluted EPS moved with net income; weighted-average diluted shares were 2,572 million versus 2,600 million. - Basic EPS
- Current period
- $1.08
- Prior period
- $6.20
- Change
- −82.6%
Basic EPS moved with net income on weighted-average basic shares of 2,517 million versus 2,529 million. - Operating margin
- Current period
- 40.1%
- Prior period
- 42.7%
- Change
- −2.7 ppts
Total costs and expenses rose 32% to $30,707M, outpacing the 26% revenue increase. - Net margin
- Current period
- 5.3%
- Prior period
- 38.7%
- Change
- −33.4 ppts
The margin decline reflects the tax charge described above rather than operating results.
| Metric | Current Period | Prior Period | Change | Investor Takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $51.2B | $40.6B | +26.2% | Management attributes the increase to an increase in advertising revenue; revenue on a constant currency basis would have increased 25% compared to the third quarter of 2024. | |
| $20.5B | $17.4B | +18.4% | The increase was driven by an increase in advertising revenue, partially offset by an increase in costs and expenses. | |
| $2.7B | $15.7B | −82.7% | The decline reflects a provision for income taxes of $18,954M versus $2,134M, including a one-time income tax charge of $15.93 billion accrued in the third quarter of 2025 related to the implementation as of the enactment date of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. | |
| $1.05 | $6.03 | −82.6% | Diluted EPS moved with net income; weighted-average diluted shares were 2,572 million versus 2,600 million. | |
| $1.08 | $6.20 | −82.6% | Basic EPS moved with net income on weighted-average basic shares of 2,517 million versus 2,529 million. | |
| 40.1% | 42.7% | −2.7 ppts | Total costs and expenses rose 32% to $30,707M, outpacing the 26% revenue increase. | |
| 5.3% | 38.7% | −33.4 ppts | The margin decline reflects the tax charge described above rather than operating results. |
Earnings Quality & Cash Conversion
Reported net income of $2,709M includes a one-time income tax charge of $15.93 billion accrued in the third quarter of 2025 related to implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including recognition of a valuation allowance against U.S. federal deferred tax assets; the provision for income taxes was $18,954M against income before provision for income taxes of $21,663M. Separately, a January 2025 change in estimated useful lives of servers and network assets reduced depreciation expense by $2.29 billion and increased net income by $1.96 billion, or $0.76 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2025. General and administrative expenses rose 88% to $3,512M in the quarter, which management attributes primarily to higher legal-related costs.
Red flag
Red flag
Value Drivers & Capital Allocation
Capital returned — dividends paid $1.3B (prior $1.3B).
Period net income attributable to the parent / period-end equity, not annualized: 1.4% (prior at 2024-09-30: 9.5%); period net income attributable to the parent / period-end assets, not annualized: 0.9%.
Forward Signals
Management states it anticipates making capital expenditures of approximately $70 billion to $72 billion in 2025 to support its core business and AI efforts, and expects significant capital expenditures growth in 2026. Absent any changes to its tax landscape, it expects its fourth quarter 2025 tax rate to be in the range of 12-15%. Management also states it continues to expect full-year Reality Labs operating losses to increase in 2025.
Known trends
- We expect our AI initiatives will require significantly increased investment in infrastructure.
- In October 2025, we entered into multi-year third-party cloud capacity arrangements for an aggregate amount of approximately $40 billion.
- We appealed the European Commission's decision on July 4, 2025, but further fines or modifications to our model may be imposed during the appeal process, which could result in a materially worse user experience for European users and a significant impact to our European business and revenue as early as later in the fourth quarter of 2025.
- In addition, while Reels is growing in usage, it monetizes at a lower rate than our Feed and Stories products and we expect it will continue to monetize at a lower rate for the foreseeable future.
Subsequent events
- In October 2025, we contributed the held-for-sale assets to a newly formed joint venture.
- In October 2025, we entered into multi-year third-party cloud capacity arrangements for an aggregate amount of approximately $40 billion.
Risks
Excerpts are the filing’s own words; each heading is the start of its excerpt. Selected excerpts are not a complete risk inventory.
As a result, we recorded a $15.93 billion one-time charge related to the implementation…
As a result, we recorded a $15.93 billion one-time charge related to the implementation as of the enactment date of OBBBA, including recognition of a valuation allowance against our U.S. federal deferred tax assets.
We also have $81.19 billion of non-cancelable contractual commitments as of September 30, 2025
We also have $81.19 billion of non-cancelable contractual commitments as of September 30, 2025.
Plaintiffs are seeking $5,000 in statutory damages per class member and have asserted that there…
Plaintiffs are seeking $5,000 in statutory damages per class member and have asserted that there are approximately 1.6 million class members.
Post-trial briefing concluded on September 10, 2025 and the court is expected to issue a decision…
Post-trial briefing concluded on September 10, 2025 and the court is expected to issue a decision in the fourth quarter of 2025 or later.
4 of 4 excerpts located in the filing text
Balance Sheet & Liquidity
Leverage: Identified debt as of 2025-09-30 (carrying amount): noncurrent long-term debt of $28.8B. Not separately reported in this filing's standardized data: current portion of long-term debt; short-term borrowings. Total debt, net debt and debt-to-equity are therefore not stated.
Liquidity: Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $44.45B as of September 30, 2025, a decrease of $33.37 billion from December 31, 2024, mostly due to capital expenditures, capital returns, non-marketable equity investments, and taxes paid on net share settlement.
Working capital: Current assets $73.1B vs. current liabilities $37.0B (current ratio 1.98x). Prior reported balance sheet as of 2024-12-31: $100.0B vs. $33.6B (2.98x).
Maturities & covenants
- The carrying amount of our long-term debt in the form of fixed-rate senior unsecured notes (the Notes) was $28.83 billion as of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024.
- Marketable debt securities of $28,133M were classified as due within one year ($2,700M) and due after one year to five years ($25,433M).
Notable Footnotes
| Item | Impact |
|---|---|
| Change in estimated useful lives of servers and network assets | Reduced depreciation expense by $2.29 billion and increased net income by $1.96 billion, or $0.76 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2025. |
| Scale AI investment | $13.79 billion of the total consideration was recorded in non-marketable equity investments under the measurement alternative; total non-marketable equity investments rose to $25,074M from $6,070M at December 31, 2024. |
| Held-for-sale data center assets and subsequent joint venture contribution | $2.04 billion of data center assets were reclassified as held-for-sale in June 2025; total held-for-sale assets were $4.66 billion at September 30, 2025, and were contributed to a newly formed joint venture in October 2025. |
| Variable interest entity exposure | Maximum exposure to loss in unconsolidated VIEs was $5.01 billion as of September 30, 2025. |
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