Meta Q3 results report $40.69 billion in revenue, powered by AI and advertising

Meta’s Q3 2024 earnings reveal strong growth and ongoing transformation, largely powered by artificial intelligence (AI) advancements that bolster its advertising capabilities. Surpassing market expectations, Meta reported revenue of $40.69 billion against an anticipated $40.3 billion, while earnings per share (EPS) hit $6.03, surpassing the forecast of $5.25. As Meta Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted, "We had a good quarter driven by AI progress across our apps and business," underscoring Meta’s solid footing in AI with its Meta AI, Llama, and AI-integrated products, including smart glasses.

Revenue from advertising was robust, hitting $39.9 billion, marking an 18.7% year-over-year increase. Advertising continues to be Meta’s primary driver, contributing 98.3% of its total revenue. With over one million advertisers tapping into Meta's generative AI advertising tools, AI innovations are clearly central to its strategy. For Indian advertisers, these tools offer new ways to automate, scale, and personalize ad campaigns—potentially revolutionizing audience reach and engagement in the region’s dynamic ad market.

The third-quarter results also reflect a 19% year-over-year sales increase and a 35% growth in net income, reaching $15.7 billion. However, daily active users, at 3.29 billion, missed analysts’ forecasts of 3.31 billion. Asia-Pacific revenue saw a tempered 15% growth, with CFO Susan Li attributing this to reduced demand from China-based advertisers, like Temu and Shein. For India, a market growing in digital consumption and e-commerce, this slowdown in Asia-Pacific revenue presents an opportunity for regional advertisers to capture more visibility and leverage Meta's tools.

Meta has increased its capital expenditure guidance for 2024 to $38-40 billion, a reflection of its ongoing investments in AI infrastructure, including substantial GPU purchases and data center expansion. "Our AI investments continue to require serious infrastructure," Zuckerberg told analysts, emphasizing Meta's commitment to sustaining its ad network even post-Apple's iOS privacy updates. This focus on AI offers Indian advertisers more insights and precision-targeted capabilities, which could be particularly valuable amid the rapid adoption of programmatic advertising in the region.

Looking ahead, Meta expects Q4 revenue between $45 and $48 billion, above the consensus estimate of $46.3 billion. In India, a market where Meta’s platforms are dominant, the company’s AI-led improvements and ad tools signify enhanced potential for regional marketers aiming to refine their strategies and drive higher ROIs.