In its third quarter financial report, Meta delivered a robust 26% year-over-year increase in total revenue, driven primarily by its advertising division, which generated $51.2 billion in sales—up from $40.6 billion a year earlier. Ad impressions rose 14% as the company enhanced its recommendation algorithms with generative AI, while pricing power improved by 10% through better ad targeting. Meta’s net margin expanded to 30.9%, and return on equity climbed to 39.4%, underscoring the high profitability of its social media ecosystem and positioning the business for continued cash-flow growth in 2026.

According to SEC filings, Third Point Management more than doubled its exposure to Meta during the third quarter by adding roughly 1.8 million shares, elevating its total holding to 3.4 million shares. This move signals confidence in the company’s long-term ad revenue trajectory and its AI monetization plans. Despite a 10% share price decline following higher guidance for 2026 data-center expenditures, Third Point’s increased allocation reflects a view that the stock trades below its intrinsic value relative to expected earnings growth and peer multiples.

Meta completed the acquisition of Manus, an AI agent startup with approximately $100 million in annual recurring revenue, for over $2 billion. Manus’ platform enables automated task completion and personalized user interactions across messaging and social feeds. The integration of Manus’ talent—reporting directly to the chief operating officer—complements Meta’s shift from open-source language models to its proprietary Avocado and Mango architectures. This deal, along with a $15 billion strategic investment in Scale AI, positions the company to capture new revenue streams from AI-driven e-commerce, in-app services, and enterprise solutions.