Meta Q1 Revenue Soars 33% in Q1, Net Profit Hits $26.8 Billion Ahead of Mass Layoffs

Even as Meta continues make money hand over fist, the tech giant is set to make a large round of layoffs to optimize operations and as it continues to plow billions into AI projects.

Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, reported revenue of $56.3 billion for the first quarter of 2026 as ad sales were strong in the period. That’s up 33% from the year-prior period. Net income was $26.8 billion, up 61%.

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Last week Meta told employees that it plans to lay off 8,000 staffers, about 10% of its workforce, in May and will close 6,000 open roles. The cuts are designed to improve efficiency and help “offset” Meta’s massive investments in AI.

Meta expects 2026 capital spending to be $125 billion to $145 billion, increased from its prior range of $115 billion-$135 billion. That reflects “our expectations for higher component pricing this year and, to a lesser extent, additional data center costs to support future year capacity,” CFO Susan Li said in the earnings announcement.

Meta previously said it expects capital spending in 2026 to be $115 billion to $135 billion, up significantly from $72.2 billion in 2025 on stepped-up investments in AI data centers.

For Q1, analysts had projected Meta revenue of $55.45 billion and earnings of $6.79 per share, per LSEG Data & Analytics.

Meta’s results included an $8.03 billion income tax benefit recognized in Q1 of 2026, which partially offset the $15.93 billion non-cash tax charge recorded in Q3 2025 upon enactment of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“We had a milestone quarter with strong momentum across our apps and the release of our first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs,” Mark Zuckerberg, Meta co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “We’re on track to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people.”