Meta's advertising engine keeps pace with its AI build-out as legal costs cut into profit

Meta Platforms' third quarter showed that its core advertising business is still growing fast enough to carry one of the largest infrastructure programs in the technology industry. Still, it also showed legal liabilities becoming a material cost line. Revenue rose 26% year on year to US$64.6 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, while the operating margin fell to 20% from 40% a year earlier.