Facebook and Instagram adverts help boost Meta revenue

Meta has reported a sharp rise in revenue following an upturn in advertising on its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.

It reported revenue of $34.2bn (£28.2bn) for the quarter to the end of September – a 23% increase on the same period last year.

Analysts had been expecting a figure of $33.6bn (£27.7bn).

Reduced costs, including from staff cuts following the launch of a restructuring programme last year, also contributed.

Founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said it had been a “good quarter” and added he was “proud” of the work his employees had done on developing artificial intelligence products.

The company, which also owns apps including Messenger, Threads and WhatsApp, said an average of 3.14 billion unique users accessed its products on a daily basis during September. It represents a year-on-year rise of 7%.

The only app it provided specific data in the results for was Facebook, which it claimed was used daily by 2.09 billion people during the same month, a rise of 5%.

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Advertising revenue went up to $33.6m (£27.7m) over the quarter, compared to $27.2m (£22.5) last year.

Meta said its employee headcount was just over 66,000 in September, a fall of almost 25% year-on-year. Earlier this year the firm announced it was axing 10,000 jobs globally.

The company has been working to expand its product range this year, including by launching new social media app Threads in July as a rival to X, formerly Twitter, following its takeover by Elon Musk.

In a conference call following publication of the results, Mr Zuckerberg said Threads currently has just under 100 million active users per month.

The results report, published on Wednesday following the close of stock markets in the US, also warned there was a risk the company could face “legal and regulatory headwinds in the EU and the US”.

It added these factors “could significantly impact our business and our financial results” going forward.

Meta has been hit by a string of recent fines and lawsuits, including a record penalty of €1.2bn (£1.04bn) by regulators in Ireland for breaching data protection laws.

The tech giant is also being sued by dozens of states in the US over claims its social media platforms are intentionally addicting young people and harming their mental health.

Mr Zuckerberg has previously defended his company over similar accusations, and said it was “just not true” that Meta prioritised profits over safety.

It comes after Microsoft and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, both reported higher-than-expected revenue in their latest quarterly results on Tuesday.