Meta will publish its third-quarter 2026 results after the market closes on Wednesday, October 21, with a call at 1:30 p.m. PT. The company guided Q3 revenue of $61 billion to $64 billion. For media buyers, the headline revenue matters less than two lines in the release: ad impressions and average price per ad.
Where things stood after Q2
In Q2 2026, Meta reported revenue of $60.80 billion, up 28% year over year, with advertising revenue of $59.36 billion. Ad impressions across its apps grew 14% and the average price per ad rose 12%. Daily active people across the family of apps averaged 3.60 billion in June.
Costs grew much faster than revenue. Operating income fell and margin dropped, partly because of $2.4 billion in legal charges recorded in the quarter. Meta guides full-year 2026 expenses of $165 billion to $169 billion and capital expenditure of $130 billion to $145 billion, most of it tied to AI infrastructure.
The numbers that reach your account
Meta usually explains swings in these numbers on the call, so listen for whether price growth is put down to demand, to ad performance, or to a mix shift between regions and surfaces.
- Average price per ad: a proxy for auction pressure. A second quarter of double-digit growth would match the higher CPMs many buyers are already seeing going into Q4.
- Ad impressions: growth here, especially from Reels, Threads and WhatsApp surfaces, is supply. More supply can soften price increases.
- Q4 revenue guidance: tells you how strong Meta expects holiday demand to be.
- Comments on AI ad tools: Meta has been pushing Advantage+, generative creative and its business AI assistant. Adoption claims on the call usually preview what becomes a default setting later.
How to use it
Read the release yourself rather than headlines: impressions and price per ad are in the first page of the press release, and Meta's investor site posts the call replay. If price per ad keeps rising, plan Q4 budgets on higher CPMs than last year, and protect margin through creative volume and conversion rate rather than expecting cheaper inventory. Keep spare capacity too: when auctions get crowded in November, a restricted account costs more than usual. Power Ads keeps backup agency accounts available with a 24/7 operator for exactly that situation.
What it means for you
- Q3 results land October 21 after market close; guidance was $61-64B.
- Watch average price per ad (up 12% in Q2) as a signal for Q4 CPMs.
- Impression growth is supply; it can soften price increases.
- Budget Q4 on higher CPMs and win on creative and conversion rate.
Sources
- Meta Investor Relations: Meta to Announce Third Quarter 2026 Results
- Meta Investor Relations: Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
