What You Need To Know Ahead of Metas Earnings [Video]

Meta (META) will report earnings after the market closes Wednesday, with investors watching whether the social media giant’s stock can keep up its strong performance so far this year.

Analysts expect Meta to post third-quarter revenue of $40.25 billion, surging nearly 18% year-over-year. Net income is projected to land at $13.56 billion or $5.20 per share, up from $11.58 billion or $4.39 per share a year ago. 

Meta shares popped after the social media giant reported in July that it’s seen early gains from artificial intelligence (AI) to optimize user engagement, benefitting its ad business.

Deutsche Bank analysts told clients earlier this month they expect Meta’s AI-driven optimization campaign to continue to bring “durable ad wallet share gains.”

Meta posted advertising revenue of $38.33 billion in the second quarter, with the Street consensus sitting at $39.54 for the third quarter. 

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in July that Meta AI is “on track to be the most used AI assistant …