Meta significantly exceeded expectations in the second quarter with a 22 percent increase in revenue to $47.5 billion. Net profit climbed by 36 percent to $18.3 billion. Analysts had anticipated lower figures in each case. Consequently, the stock rose by over 11 percent in after-hours trading—a gain of more than $150 billion in market value.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg used the earnings presentation to reaffirm his focus on artificial intelligence. With a new "superintelligence" team, Meta aims to develop systems that surpass human intelligence. In recent months, highly paid developers from OpenAI, Apple, and Google have been poached for this purpose. Simultaneously, Meta is investing billions in new data centers, nuclear power deals, and infrastructure projects.

Ad revenues already benefit noticeably from AI, according to Zuckerberg: Users spend 5 percent more time on Facebook and 6 percent more on Instagram. This is made possible by an improved recommendation system that displays content more accurately. Advertising placement has also become more efficient.

However, CFO Susan Li dampened expectations of short-term revenue from generative AI. Substantial income is not expected until 2027. At the same time, costs are rising: Meta raised the lower range of its investment forecast for 2025 from $64 billion to $66 billion. The company expects double-digit growth in capital expenditures again for 2026 – possibly over $100 billion.

Parallel, Meta is Reportedly Exploring Debt Financing Options. Talks with Apollo, KKR, and Brookfield for Up to $29 Billion are Already Underway. The Goal is to Accelerate the Expansion of the Data Center Fleet.

The new AI unit is led by Alexandr Wang, former CEO of Scale AI. Meta had previously paid over $14 billion for a stake in the data labeling specialist. Despite high ambitions, Meta's Llama models currently lag behind the products of OpenAI and Google.

Zuckerberg suggested that long-term access to AI should be through Meta's smart glasses. The use of technology should connect people and make them more creative, rather than focusing purely on automation. The long-term goal is a learning system that improves itself.

In view of his failed Metaverse bet from 2022, Zuckerberg emphasized the viability of the advertising business as a source of funding for the new strategy. Analysts like Jeffrey Wlodarczak from Pivotal Research were convinced: "In light of the strong revenue momentum from AI, the investments are justified.