Meta Crushes Q1, AI Bet Looms Large

0:00Meta platforms just dropped its first quarter 2026 earnings, and they crushed it. Revenue hit $56.31 billion, up 33% from last year, while earnings per share came in at $10. 44 cents, smashing estimates by nearly 4 bucks, adds drove the show, jumping 33% to $55 billion. But the stock tanked 8-9% after hours anyway. Guidance for the second quarter looks solid at $58-61 billion, right in line with what folks expected. They kept full-year expenses steady, but jacked up capital spending to $125-145 billion to fuel there. AI push, family of AFS revenue, soared 34%, though reality labs lost over $4 billion. Wall Street split on this, shares are down 7% year to date, despite a 14% pop this month. Bank of America stayed bullish, repeating buy and bumping, their price target to $835 from $820, citing,

1:02killer ad growth and AI upside. But others like JP Morgan and UBS, trimmed targets, worried about the spending spree. Analysts at Bank of America see AI paying off big, boosting app performance with better language models and new revenue from threads, meta AI, and more. Engagements up to 10% more time on Facebook, 8% jump in video watch time. They forecast 2026 revenue at $254.6 billion in earnings per share at $34.12. Since, still, risks loom with that massive capex, nearly 60% of cash flow, and 98% ad reliance leaving little wiggle room if. Spending slows or competition heats up from open AI. Metis executing near perfectly, but the AI bets got a deliver to keep the momentum rolling. I'm Corey with the story. That's your Durham News Today update. AI powered and always on.