Meta reports ad revenue surge as AI spending grows

Meta posted strong growth in digital advertising, with revenue reaching $39.1 billion for the second quarter, reporting a 22% increase. The Facebook and Instagram parent’s net profit reached $13.5 billion, up 73% from last year. The company’s stock jumped after hours yesterday.

The tech giant has been heavily investing in AI to help sell personalized ads, and the earnings report suggests it might be working.

But it is still a significant expense. Capital expenditures for the quarter jumped nearly 33% to $8.47 billion.

The Reality Labs unit, responsible for the Quest virtual reality headsets, reported revenue growth but also incurred $4.5 billion in losses for the quarter.

Meta’s daily active users across its apps exceeded 3.27 billion, and its Threads service is approaching 200 million monthly active users.