The news: Meta reported strong Q4 2025 results, hitting $59.89 billion in Q4 revenues (24% growth YoY) and $200.97 billion in full year 2025 (22% YoY). Ad revenues hit $58.14 billion (24.23% YoY growth) and $196.12 billion in Q4 and 2025, respectively.

Ad impressions grew 18% YoY in Q4 and 12% YoY in 2025, while the average price per ad increased by 6% and 9% YoY for Q4 and 2025, respectively.

But despite the growth, Meta’s major AI investments, capex spending, and continued operating losses for its Reality Labs unit contributed to one of its highest-spending quarters ever.

How much Meta spent and lost:

• Capex spending: $22.14 billion in Q4 and $72.22 billion in 2025.
• Total costs and expenses: $35.15 billion and $117.69 billion, increasing 40% and 24% YoY for Q4 and full year 2025.
• Reality Labs operating losses: $6.02 billion in Q4 and $19.19 billion in 2025 on $955 million and $2.21 billion in sales, respectively.

Behind Meta’s AI push: Hefty AI investment comes from Meta’s efforts to stay on pace with rivals like Alphabet and OpenAI. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has commented that underinvesting in AI presents a bigger risk than the “couple hundred billion” AI infrastructure will cost.

What it means for marketers: While investors are scrutinizing Meta’s pricy AI costs, marketers are seeing tangible upside in more automated, efficient, and performance-driven ad tools.

• AI-powered tools are optimizing ad targeting, segmentation, and delivery on Meta. Tools like Advantage + AI and unified ad model Lattice shift campaign management away from manual optimization and toward AI-driven performance, helping advertisers achieve higher conversion rates and improved ROAS.
• AI automation also enables broader reach with less hands-on effort, allowing advertisers to cast a wider net and reach audiences that may have previously been missed.