Meta's Q4 Beat Signals More Ad Demand: Here's What Sales Teams Should Do Now
Meta cleared Wall Street's bar in Q4, driven by strong advertising performance and a clean execution. The company reported $22.77 billion in earnings, or $8.88 per share, on revenue of $59.89 billion. That's 9% EPS growth and 24% revenue growth year over year. Shares jumped in after-hours trading on the news.
The numbers you need
- EPS: $8.88 (vs. $8.21 expected)
- Revenue: $59.89B (vs. $58.5B expected)
- Expenses: Up 40% to $35.15B
- Q1 revenue guide: $53.5B-$56.5B (Street was $51.4B)
- 2026 expense outlook: $162B-$169B, with heavy AI-related infrastructure and talent costs
"Once again, Meta surpassed analysts' earnings expectations for the quarter, cementing its position as one of the world's most dominant media companies," said Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at Sonata Insights. "Its strong performance provides a solid foundation to continue its massive investments into AI. If there were any signs of revenue shortfall, investors would look at the capital expenditures more negatively."
Why this matters for sales and revenue leaders
- Budget flows to Meta: Advertisers double down where returns are consistent. Expect more spend consolidation into Meta's ad stack.
- Auctions heat up: With demand up, plan for tighter auctions and potential CPM creep. Win rates will favor relevance, creative quality, and clean data pipes.
- AI-fueled ad performance: Meta's investments typically surface as better targeting, optimization, and measurement. That translates to steadier pipelines for sales teams tied to paid acquisition.
- Confidence signal: Above-consensus guidance suggests near-term ad demand is intact. That's useful when defending budget and headcount.
Moves to make this quarter
- Reallocate with intent: If Meta is within 10-15% of your best ROAS channel, shift budget to test higher spend ceilings. Use strict holdouts to confirm lift.
- Tighten data quality: Prioritize Conversions API, first-party audience feeds, and server-side event deduplication. Cleaner inputs lower acquisition costs.
- Lean into automation: Test Advantage+ campaigns and creative variations with weekly refresh cycles. Kill losers fast; scale winners with guardrails.
- Creative sprints: Ship 5-10 new hooks per product per week. Short, benefit-first, and native to Reels/Stories tend to outperform.
- Protect margin: Pre-negotiate rates or pacing with partners where possible. Align finance on acceptable CAC/CPA bands before auctions tighten.
- Strengthen measurement: Run geo or time-based lift tests. Validate that incremental revenue justifies any CPM increases.
What to tell your team and clients
- Expect steady demand: Meta's guide implies healthy top-of-funnel and retargeting performance.
- Quality beats volume: Relevance and speed to iteration will win as competition intensifies.
- Plan for price variance: Build scenarios for +5-15% CPM swings and maintain backup creatives and audiences.
Quick brief for executive updates
- Meta outperformed on both revenue and EPS; stock reacted positively after hours.
- Near-term guidance is ahead of consensus, signaling strong ad demand.
- Expense growth is elevated due to AI infrastructure and talent, but investor tolerance is tied to continued revenue strength.
Useful sources
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