**BETA FINCH PODCAST SCRIPT: Meta Q1 2026 Earnings**

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**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown! I'm Alex, and I'm joined as always by my co-host Jordan. Today we're diving into Meta's Q1 2026 earnings call, and wow - there's a lot to unpack here.

Before we jump in, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

Jordan, Meta just reported some pretty impressive numbers - $56.3 billion in total revenue, up 33% year-over-year. That's a monster quarter!

**JORDAN:** Absolutely, Alex. And that earnings per share of $10.44 really caught my attention, though there's a big asterisk there - they had an $8 billion tax benefit that boosted things significantly. Without that, we're looking at $7.31 per share, which is still solid but gives us a clearer picture of the underlying performance.

**ALEX:** Right, and speaking of underlying performance, the engagement metrics are where things get really interesting. Mark Zuckerberg spent a lot of time talking about their new AI model called "Muse Spark" from their Meta Superintelligence Labs. This seems like their big bet on competing with OpenAI and Google in the AI race.

**JORDAN:** That's the story of this earnings call, Alex. Meta is going all-in on AI, and I mean ALL-IN. They're increasing their capital expenditure guidance to $125-145 billion for 2026 - that's up from their previous range of $120-135 billion. We're talking about massive infrastructure investments here.

**ALEX:** And the results seem to be paying off already. They're seeing double-digit increases in Meta AI sessions per user since launching Muse Spark. But what really stood out to me was how they're using AI to improve their core recommendation systems. On Instagram, they drove a 10% lift in Reels time spent, and on Facebook, total video time increased more than 8% globally - that's the largest quarter-over-quarter gain in four years!

**JORDAN:** Those engagement improvements are crucial because that's what drives ad revenue, which was $55 billion this quarter, up 33%. But here's what's fascinating - they're not just throwing more ads at people. They're using AI to make ads more effective. They mentioned a 6% increase in conversion rates for landing page view ads and over 8 million advertisers now using their AI-powered creative tools.

**ALEX:** The business AI piece is really taking off too. Susan Li mentioned they now have over 10 million weekly conversations between people and business AIs on their messaging platforms - that's up from just 1 million at the start of the year. That's 10x growth in just one quarter!

**JORDAN:** And let's talk about the elephant in the room - that massive increase in contractual commitments. They added $107 billion in contractual commitments this quarter for infrastructure and cloud deals. That's not just spending money; that's locking in capacity for the next several years.

**ALEX:** Which brings us to the cost management side. Meta announced they're planning workforce reductions in May. They're calling it a move toward a "leaner operating model" to help offset these substantial AI investments. It's interesting - they're betting that AI will make their remaining employees more productive.

**JORDAN:** The Ray-Ban smart glasses story continues to be a bright spot too. Daily users tripled year-over-year, and they're expanding beyond just Ray-Ban to other brands. Mark mentioned this is "one of the fastest growing categories of consumer electronics ever." That's a bold claim, but the numbers seem to back it up.

**ALEX:** In the Q&A, there were some really revealing moments. When asked about return on investment for all this AI spending, Zuckerberg essentially said they're following their traditional playbook: build experiences

This episode includes AI-generated content.

# Beta Finch Podcast Script: Meta Q4 2025 Earnings

**ALEX:** Welcome to Beta Finch, your AI-powered earnings breakdown where we dive into the numbers that move markets. I'm Alex, and I'm here with my co-host Jordan. Today we're breaking down Meta's Q4 2025 earnings, and folks, this one's a doozy.

Before we dive in, I need to mention that this podcast is AI-generated content for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing we discuss should be considered investment advice. Always do your own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

**JORDAN:** Thanks Alex. And wow, where do we even start with Meta? These numbers are absolutely crushing it. We're talking about $58.9 billion in Q4 revenue - that's up 25% year-over-year. The advertising business alone hit $58.1 billion, up 24%. These are some of the strongest growth numbers we've seen from Meta in years.

**ALEX:** Right, and what's really striking is the guidance for Q1 2026. They're projecting $53.5 to $56.5 billion in revenue - that would be the fastest growth rate in almost five years. Jordan, what's driving this acceleration?

**JORDAN:** It's really a perfect storm of improvements, Alex. Susan Li, their CFO, highlighted three main drivers. First, they're seeing massive gains from their AI-powered recommendation systems. On Facebook alone, they drove a 7% lift in views of organic feed and video posts in Q4 - and get this - that was the largest quarterly revenue impact from Facebook product launches in the past two years.

**ALEX:** That's incredible. And they're not stopping there, right?

**JORDAN:** Not at all. They're completely rebuilding their AI infrastructure. Mark Zuckerberg announced they're investing between $115 to $135 billion in capital expenditures for 2026. That's a massive step-up, primarily for their new Meta Superintelligence Labs. Zuckerberg said they're six months into rebuilding their AI efforts and he's "very pleased with the quality of the team."

**ALEX:** Speaking of Zuckerberg, his vision for 2026 was pretty ambitious. He's talking about "personal superintelligence" and AI agents that really understand users' personal context. What does that actually mean for the business?

**JORDAN:** It's fascinating, Alex. He outlined three key areas. First, they're merging large language models with their existing recommendation systems. So instead of just showing you content based on past behavior, the AI will understand your personal goals and tailor feeds to help you improve your life in specific ways.

Second, they're revolutionizing commerce. Their ads help businesses find the right customers, but soon they want AI shopping tools that help users find exactly the right products from their business catalog.

**ALEX:** And the third area?

**JORDAN:** New content formats. Zuckerberg believes we're moving beyond video to more immersive, interactive experiences. He mentioned their AI glasses sales more than tripled last year, and he compared this moment to when flip phones became smartphones - inevitable transformation.

**ALEX:** Let's talk about the financials though. With all this massive investment, are they still profitable?

**JORDAN:** Here's what's interesting - despite spending up to $169 billion in total expenses for 2026, Susan Li said they expect operating income to be above 2025 levels in absolute dollars. Not growth rate, mind you, but actual dollar amounts. That's pretty impressive given the scale of investment.

**ALEX:** What about their other businesses? Reality Labs has been a drag on profitability for years.

**JORDAN:** Good news there. Zuckerberg said Reality Labs losses will be similar to 2025 levels, and this will "likely be the peak" as they start to gradually reduce losses going forward. They're shifting focus mainly to glasses and wearables rather than VR headsets.

**ALEX:** Now, during the Q&A, there were some interesting questions about their AI strategy. One analyst asked

This episode includes AI-generated content.