Meta's Q2 Ad Revenue Rises 27% As Impressions And Ad Prices Both Climb

Meta's advertising revenue rose 27% year-on-year to $59.36 billion in the second quarter of 2026, with ad impressions and average ad prices climbing together rather than trading off against each other.

Ad revenue: $59.36 billion, up 27% year-on-year (26% excluding currency impact)
Ad impressions: up 14%
Average price per ad: up 12%
Total revenue: $60.80 billion, up 28%
Family daily active people: 3.60 billion, up 3%
Net income: $15.85 billion, down 14%; operating income: $18.78 billion, down 8%
Capital expenditure: $31.08 billion in the quarter; 2026 guidance raised to $130-145 billion

Volume And Price Rising Together

Ad impressions rising 14% while the average price per ad also rose 12% is the more telling pair of numbers in the quarter: Meta is not simply running more ads at a discount to grow revenue, nor squeezing more from a flat ad load, it is doing both at once, evidence of an ad system with enough demand behind it to absorb more inventory without depressing what advertisers pay for it. Family daily active people grew a comparatively modest 3% to 3.60 billion, meaning the revenue growth is coming disproportionately from monetisation improvements rather than user growth.

Profit Squeezed By Charges And Spend

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "AI is accelerating our core business today, powering our next generation of products, and opening the door to entirely new enterprise opportunities." That AI investment shows up directly in the numbers: capital expenditure hit $31.08 billion for the quarter, with full-year guidance raised to $130-145 billion, a spending pace that, combined with $2.40 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion in severance from a May 2026 headcount reduction, pulled net income down 14% to $15.85 billion even as revenue grew strongly. Meta guided Q3 2026 revenue to $61-64 billion.