Meta's third-quarter revenue jumped 26% to $64.6 billion. Its advertising business is growing, and AI is already helping improve ad performance.
Meta generated nearly $97 billion in operating cash flow during the first nine months of 2026, but it's reinvesting much of that money into building AI data centers and expanding computing capacity.
That leaves less free cash flow for investors, even though its core business remains highly profitable.
The Bottom Line
AI demand isn't necessarily the problem. The cost of building AI is.
Companies like Meta are making real money, but investors are concerned about how long it will take for their massive AI investments to pay off.
Great earnings show AI is growing. They don't automatically prove that every dollar spent on AI will be profitable.