Zuckerberg’s California tax move is a win for Meta — and for him

Meta Platforms reported a significant surge in financial performance during the third quarter, with net income jumping more than threefold to $9.86 billion. Revenue increased by 26% to reach $64.60 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $63.34 billion. The company settled a $18 billion agreement with 48 U.S. states to protect children's mental health by restricting Instagram and Facebook access for users under 13, and teens aged 14 to 18 to age-appropriate accounts.

Excluding this $9.89 billion charge, Meta's earnings per share would have been $7.40. CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the company's progress in delivering "personal superintelligence" through the launch of Muse, an AI agent, which has already attracted over 10 million U.S. and Canadian users. Daily active users across Meta's apps saw a 3% year-over-year growth, averaging 3.64 billion.

The Menlo Park, California-based firm now employs 66,775 people, a 15% decrease from the previous year. For the current quarter, Meta anticipates revenue between $73 billion and $76 billion, which is higher than the analysts' projected $73.65 billion. Expenses increased by 68% year-over-year, including the legal settlement charge.

Meta's shares experienced a 0.5% increase in regular trading and a 2.9% rise in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement, marking a 5.7% gain for the year.