Meta reported solid results in Q2 amid strong demand for digital advertising.

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp reported that its total revenue was US$39.07 billion, which represents a 22% year-over-year increase, compared to the US$32 billion it posted in 2023. Its net income increased 73% to US$13.4 billion, up from US$7.7 billion last year. These results follow the positive figures the company posted in the previous quarter.

Advertising revenue, which comes primarily from Facebook and Instagram, increased 18% year-over-year to US$38.3 billion. Ad impressions recorded a 10% increase year-over-year, and the average price per ad also increased by 10%. According to Meta, demand for ads was broad-based across geographies and industries, but retailers, especially those based in Asia, have been one of the biggest drivers of growth.

In terms of users, the company reported that it had 3.27 billion daily active persons (DAP) in the quarter, rising 7% year-over-year.

Total costs and expenses were US$24.22 billion, due in part to its recent agreement to settle a facial recognition data lawsuit filed by the state of Texas. Its headcount fell 1% to 70,799 as of June 30 – the company has eliminated approximately 21,000 jobs in several rounds of layoffs since 2023.

“We had a strong quarter, and Meta AI is on track to be the most used AI assistant in the world by the end of the year,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO. “We’ve released the first frontier-level open source AI model, we continue to see good traction with our Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, and we’re driving good growth across our apps.”

Despite cutting its workforce, Meta has been investing in AI technologies and virtual reality. The company has been rolling out different improved versions of its Llama AI model, after first introducing it in early April for its Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger apps. The tech, which can generate images and summarize articles, enhances the company’s ad targeting capabilities, allowing for more precise and effective advertising strategies. Meta also launched its free AI assistant, Meta AI, on the same platforms in April to compete with other similar models in the market, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

The company forecasts overall revenues in the third quarter to range between $38.5 billion and $41 billion.