Meta Platforms (META) shares have fallen 20% since July 15, despite the company reporting second-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue of $60.8 billion—a 28% year-over-year increase that exceeded the expected $60.3 billion—and a 14% rise in ad impressions.However, earnings per share came in at $6.18, below the market consensus estimate of $7.22, primarily due to legal and severance costs.Meanwhile, Meta’s capital expenditures continue to rise, with full-year guidance raised to $130 billion to $145 billion, while second-quarter free cash flow plummeted 90% year-over-year to $784 million.Company management remains cautious about converting idle data center capacity into a broader cloud business and expects third-quarter revenue to range from $61 billion to $64 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $63.2 billion.

In contrast, Microsoft’s (MSFT) Azure business grew by 43%, marking its fastest growth since 2022 and exceeding analysts’ expectations of approximately 40%.Amazon (AMZN) also reported strong AWS revenue results, and its stock price rose by more than 15%. The market views the stock price increases for Microsoft, and Amazon as reflecting that their AI investments are yielding returns, while Meta faces the challenge of high AI spending costs without clear evidence of monetization.