Meta Adds More Users in Q3, Projects Increased AI Investment

Meta adds more users in Q3 as projects increase AI investment, signalling the continued importance of personalized recommendations and platform innovations.

Meta’s latest performance update shows constant growth in users and a substantial investment in AI and VR technology. Meta added 60 million users on its portfolio of apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, bringing the number of active users per day up to 3.54 billion. 

This is because mature markets are becoming saturated, and a large portion of the growth in users is driven by emerging regions, and the momentum generated by emerging platforms like Threads.

Strong Revenue Growth Despite Market Maturity

Meta disclosed $51.24 billion of revenue during Q3, which is an increase of 26% over the previous year. 

Advertising remains the main revenue source with 97% of revenue mostly due to U.S. audiences. Yet, Meta is diversifying with increasing sales of AI-driven products such as its AI glasses as well as subscriptions like Meta Verified.

Meta recently announced its Display’s models for AI-powered glasses that comes with the heads-up display as well as a wrist controller. It plans to offer fully AR-powered glasses to developers in the coming year.

The company is targeting a launch for retail in 2027. Meta’s goal is to replace smartphones by using AI-powered glasses as the primary technology for connectivity, which could transform the future revenue streams.

Reality Labs and Elevated Expenses

The Reality Labs division reported a $4.4 billion loss in the third quarter and high costs offset increasing sales. The division is an investment opportunity of significant size because Meta is the first to develop AR as well as VR hardware.

And also:

Meta has been investing billions and billions in AI and machine learning, with Zuckerberg forecasting back in January that the company would invest $65 billion in AI infrastructure in the coming year. This will mainly go to building huge new data centers that will support its superintelligence efforts. It’s now looking like the cost could be more than the initial projection.

According to Meta:

“As we have begun to plan for next year, it has become clear that our compute needs have continued to expand meaningfully, including versus our expectations last quarter. We are still working through our capacity plans for next year, but we expect to invest aggressively to meet these needs both by building our own infrastructure and contracting with third party cloud providers. As a result, our current expectation is that capital expenditures dollar growth will be notably larger in 2026 than 2025.”

Industry-Leading AI Data Centers Underway

Meta recently began construction on the construction of a $1.5 billion data facility located in El Paso, Texas, the 29th facility of this kind within the U.S. 

The size of these projects is greater than similar initiatives, putting Meta in the lead of the AI computing arms race, alongside Google as well as Apple. 

But the enormous investment in capital could be a challenge to smaller companies as some analysts are doubting the long-term benefits of this investment. Meta knows of the significant regulatory risk, especially within both the U.S. and EU.

“For example, in the EU, we continue to engage constructively with the European Commission on our Less Personalized Ads offering. However, we cannot rule out the Commission imposing further changes to that offering that could have a significant negative impact on our European revenue, as early as this quarter. In the U.S., a number of youth-related trials are scheduled for 2026, and may ultimately result in a material loss.”

Additionally, the legal action of youth within the U.S. could also pose serious financial risk.

Strategic Outlook

Despite the rigors of uncertainty and massive losses in the new tech areas Meta’s core business is solid. Meta’s aggressive AI and VR efforts aim to gain a foothold in technology which are set to revolutionize the industry in the coming decade. 

Meta’s investments are an investment in the long-term for AI’s revolutionary potential, while also taking into account the pressure on earnings and the anticipated future benefits.

Bottom Line

Meta’s Q3 report for 2025 highlights the company’s resilience and ambition, including steady growth in users, diverse revenue streams, and massive AI investments that are set to define Meta’s future and the overall technology landscape.