According to data from Similarweb, Meta’s Threads app reached approximately 141.5 million daily active mobile users as of January 7, 2026, outpacing Elon Musk’s X platform, which recorded around 125 million daily mobile users. This milestone underscores Meta’s ability to leverage its broader social ecosystem—3.5 billion daily active users across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads—to drive engagement on newly launched services. Investors should note that while Threads has yet to gain similar traction on web-based interfaces, mobile adoption growth of 13% quarter-over-quarter highlights the effectiveness of Meta’s integration of features like AI-powered recommendations and in-app cross-promotion.

Britain’s Gambling Commission issued a formal statement accusing Meta of failing to prevent illegal online casino operators from advertising on Facebook and Instagram. The regulator highlighted that, over a six-month review period in 2025, dozens of illicit gambling sites spent an estimated £10 million on Meta’s platforms. While Meta generated £2.3 billion in advertising revenue in the UK during the same period, the Commission warned that continued non-compliance could result in fines amounting to up to 10% of annual global turnover—potentially exceeding £1 billion—if corrective measures are not implemented by mid-2026.

Meta has increased its capital expenditure forecast for fiscal 2025 to a midpoint of $71 billion, up from previous guidance of $65 billion. CFO Susan Li indicated that AI build-out initiatives—spanning custom chip development, new data centers and expansion of the Llama large language model—will put "upward pressure" on 2026 capex, with analysts estimating a further 15% year-over-year increase. This level of investment reflects Meta’s strategy to boost user engagement via AI-driven features such as virtual assistants and automated ad creative tools, which management projects could drive a 10–15% increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) across its core apps within two years.

Despite being perceived primarily as a social media company, Meta’s AI initiatives represent an underappreciated growth vector. In the first nine months of fiscal 2025, Meta generated $37.7 billion in net income on $141.1 billion in revenue, achieving an 82% gross margin. With its Advantage+ AI advertising suite lowering costs for marketers and Llama open-source models handling 25% of global generative AI workloads, Meta aims to expand ad spending beyond its current $50 billion quarterly run rate. Wall Street analysts now forecast compound annual EPS growth of 11.6% from 2024 to 2027, driven by AI-enhanced monetization and new enterprise services built on Meta Compute infrastructure.