AI boosts Meta’s Q3 revenue and user engagement, but costs continue to surge

The news: Meta’s focus on AI-powered ad targeting and content recommendation is fueling engagement and monetization across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Revenues reached $40.6 billion, up 19% YoY and above expectations of $40.3 billion for Q3 2024.

However, AI-driven investments also come at a high cost as Meta scales its data centers and infrastructure. Reality Labs posted a $4.4 billion operating loss, a result of AR/VR and metaverse ambitions that have failed to turn a profit for the fourth consecutive year.

AI mentions: AI services becoming integrated into Meta’s ecosystem resulted in 102 mentions during the Q3 2024 earnings call compared with 137 mentions in the Q2 2024 call.