Social network operator Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) reported Q3 CY2025 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 26.2% year on year to $51.24 billion. The company expects next quarter’s revenue to be around $57.5 billion, close to analysts’ estimates. Its GAAP profit of $1.05 per share was 84.3% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy Meta? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members.
Meta (META) Q3 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $51.24 billion vs analyst estimates of $49.55 billion (26.2% year-on-year growth, 3.4% beat)
- EPS (GAAP): $1.05 vs analyst expectations of $6.70 (84.3% miss, the third quarter 2025 provision for income taxes includes a one-time, non-cash income tax charge of $15.93 billion and Diluted EPS would have increased to $7.25, compared to the reported diluted EPS of $1.05)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $31.05 billion vs analyst estimates of $29.71 billion (60.6% margin, 4.5% beat)
- Revenue Guidance for Q4 CY2025 is $57.5 billion at the midpoint, roughly in line with what analysts were expecting
- Operating Margin: 40.1%, down from 42.7% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 20.7%, up from 18% in the previous quarter
- Daily Active People: 3.54 billion, up 250 million year on year
- Market Capitalization: $1.89 trillion
"We had a strong quarter for our business and our community," said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO.
Company Overview
Famously founded by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) operates a collection of the largest social networks in the world - Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, along with its metaverse focused Reality Labs.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Luckily, Meta’s sales grew at a solid 17.1% compounded annual growth rate over the last three years. Its growth surpassed the average consumer internet company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis.
This quarter, Meta reported robust year-on-year revenue growth of 26.2%, and its $51.24 billion of revenue topped Wall Street estimates by 3.4%. Company management is currently guiding for a 18.8% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.
Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 16.6% over the next 12 months, similar to its three-year rate. This projection is particularly noteworthy for a company of its scale and implies the market is baking in success for its products and services.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it should be obvious by now that generative AI is going to have a huge impact on how large corporations do business. While Nvidia and AMD are trading close to all-time highs, we prefer a lesser-known (but still profitable) stock benefiting from the rise of AI. Click here to access our free report one of our favorites growth stories.
Daily Active People
User Growth
As a social network, Meta generates revenue growth by increasing its user base and charging advertisers more for the ads each user is shown.
Over the last two years, Meta’s daily active people, a key performance metric for the company, increased by 6.4% annually to 3.54 billion in the latest quarter. This growth rate is slightly below average for a consumer internet business and is largely a function of its already massive scale and penetrated market. If Meta wants to reach the next level, it likely needs to innovate with new products. 
In Q3, Meta added 250 million daily active people, leading to 7.6% year-on-year growth. The quarterly print was higher than its two-year result, suggesting its new initiatives are accelerating user growth.
Revenue Per User
Average revenue per user (ARPU) is a critical metric to track because it measures how much the company earns from the ads shown to its users. ARPU can also be a proxy for how valuable advertisers find Meta’s audience and its ad-targeting capabilities.
Meta’s ARPU growth has been exceptional over the last two years, averaging 14.8%. Its ability to increase monetization while growing its daily active people demonstrates its platform’s value, as its users are spending significantly more than last year. 
This quarter, Meta’s ARPU clocked in at $14.48. It grew by 17.3% year on year, faster than its daily active people.
Key Takeaways from Meta’s Q3 Results
We enjoyed seeing Meta beat analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. EPS would have also beat excluding a one-time, non-cash income tax charge of $15.93 billion. Looking ahead, revenue guidance was just in line. Overall, this print had some key positives. Investors were likely hoping for more, and shares traded down 6.4% to $703.81 immediately following the results.
So do we think Meta is an attractive buy at the current price? If you’re making that decision, you should consider the bigger picture of valuation, business qualities, as well as the latest earnings. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free for active Edge members.