Kasikorn Securities reports META Q2 profit below expectations due to special expenses

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โดย Kaohoon·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Kasikorn Securities Public Company Limited revealed that Meta Platforms reported net profit for the second quarter of 2026 at 15.84 billion US dollars, down 14 percent from the previous year and 14 percent below market expectations. The results were pressured by special legal expenses of 2.4 billion US dollars and employee severance costs of 1.18 billion US dollars from a workforce reduction of approximately 8,000 employees in May. Excluding these special items, core operating profit exceeded market expectations by 4 percent. Revenue came in at 60.8 billion US dollars, up 28 percent year-on-year and 1 percent above forecasts. Meanwhile, research and development expenses rose 67 percent, and capital expenditure in the quarter stood at 31 billion US dollars, an increase of 83 percent from the previous year, causing free cash flow to drop to just 784 million US dollars. The company raised the lower end of its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to 130 to 145 billion US dollars, from the previous range of 125 to 145 billion US dollars. For the third quarter of 2026, META expects revenue of 61 to 64 billion US dollars, 1 percent below market expectations, with growth slowing to 22 percent. This led to an approximately 8 percent decline in the share price in after-hours trading. Analysts assess that the stock may face short-term pressure from slowing revenue and free cash flow that could turn negative in the second half of 2026, even as the company continues to invest in AI to create long-term growth opportunities.

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Artificial Intelligence▼ · 1 stocks
Meta Platforms Inc.
META
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Q2 net profit missed expectations due to special legal and severance costs, and Q3 revenue guidance below consensus.

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