Meta’s advertising business continues to expand, but rising ad prices and the company’s growing investment in artificial intelligence could reshape how businesses reach customers and how content creators earn money across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.
In its third-quarter 2026 results, Meta reported revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year. Its family of apps also gained 40 million daily active users, bringing the total to 3.64 billion.
For businesses and creators who depend on Meta’s platforms, the results point to a growing audience and a powerful advertising ecosystem. However, increasing advertising costs, changes in platform algorithms, and uncertainty around Meta’s AI products could create new challenges.
Rising advertising costs could pressure businesses
Meta reported that advertising impressions across its apps increased by 10% in the third quarter, while the average price per ad rose by 14%.
The increase in ad prices means businesses may have to spend more to achieve the same reach or maintain their existing advertising results, particularly if their budgets remain unchanged.
For small businesses, online retailers and startups that rely on Facebook and Instagram ads to generate sales, higher costs could make customer acquisition more expensive and reduce profit margins.
Businesses may need to pay closer attention to campaign performance, including the cost of acquiring a customer, conversion rates and revenue generated from each advertising dollar.
Rather than focusing only on impressions, clicks or engagement, advertisers may need to prioritise campaigns that produce measurable business results.
AI could improve ad targeting, but advertisers must prove the value
Meta’s growing investment in AI is partly aimed at improving advertising performance through more sophisticated targeting and automated optimisation.
These tools could help businesses identify relevant audiences, deliver more personalised advertisements and improve campaign efficiency. For smaller advertisers with limited marketing teams, automation may also reduce the amount of manual work required to manage campaigns.
However, the latest results show that Meta’s advertising prices are rising even as impression growth moderates.
Advertisers will therefore need to determine whether AI-powered improvements are generating enough additional sales to justify higher costs. Better targeting does not automatically guarantee stronger returns, especially when competition for customers is intense.
Businesses should test different creatives, monitor conversion performance, and compare the profitability of campaigns across audiences and placements before increasing their budgets.
More users create opportunities for creators
Meta’s 3.64 billion daily active users across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads represent a substantial potential audience for content creators, influencers and publishers.
The continued growth of the platform ecosystem offers creators opportunities to build communities, attract brand partnerships and direct followers towards products, services or other income streams.
Meta also reported that Threads had overtaken X in monthly active users, according to claims cited in the source report. If Threads continues to grow, it could become a more important channel for creators and businesses looking to reach audiences beyond Facebook and Instagram.
However, audience growth alone does not guarantee greater visibility or higher earnings. Creators still need engaging content, consistent publishing, and a clear strategy for converting attention into revenue.
What businesses and creators should do now
For businesses, the priority should be making advertising budgets work harder. Track the cost of acquiring customers, measure actual sales, and test whether campaigns remain profitable as ad prices increase. Relying on a single platform also creates risk if advertising costs rise further or campaign performance changes.
For creators, Meta’s growing audience offers opportunities to expand their reach, but it is important to build relationships with followers beyond dependence on a single platform. Email lists, websites, direct customer relationships and multiple distribution channels can help reduce that dependence.
Both groups should also pay attention to how Meta’s AI tools evolve. Automation could make advertising more efficient, but businesses and creators should assess new features based on their real results rather than assuming that more AI spending by Meta will automatically benefit everyone using its platforms.
Meta’s AI spending remains a longer-term question
Meta’s expenses rose 68% year over year in the third quarter, driven largely by capital expenditure as the company expands its AI infrastructure.
Its Reality Labs division, which includes virtual reality headsets and AI glasses, has yet to demonstrate that its revenue can match the scale of Meta’s wider investment. Meanwhile, the company’s Muse AI assistant faces questions around user retention and reported data-exposure incidents.
Meta also reported that its workforce had fallen to 66,775 employees as of September 30, a 15% decrease compared with a year earlier.
For advertisers and creators, the key question is whether Meta’s substantial AI investment will translate into better tools, stronger audience engagement and more profitable ways to reach customers.
For now, the company’s advertising business continues to provide a strong financial foundation. But as costs rise, businesses and creators will need to focus on measurable returns, audience loyalty and diversified revenue streams to make the most of Meta’s enormous reach.
Source: Meta