New York, January 23, 2026, 4:21 PM EST — After-hours
- Meta shares last up about 1.7% in after-hours trading.
- Meta said teens will lose access to its current AI characters worldwide in coming weeks.
- Investors are turning to Jan. 28 results and guidance, with AI spending and new ad products in focus.
Meta Platforms (META.O) shares were last up about 1.7% at $658.65 in after-hours trading, after the regular U.S. stock market close. The Facebook and Instagram owner said it will suspend teenagers’ access to its existing AI characters across its apps worldwide in the coming weeks, as it works on an updated version for teens with parental controls.
The stock move lands at an awkward moment for mega-cap tech: earnings are about to hit in force, and investors are looking for proof that heavy spending on artificial intelligence can show up in profit. “It’s been a little bit of a short but steep roller-coaster ride,” said Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at PNC Financial Services Group, describing the past several sessions. Reuters
Meta is due to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results after market close on Wednesday, Jan. 28, and host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET, the company said earlier this month.
On the product side, Meta’s new AI lab has delivered its first high-profile models internally this month, Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth told reporters in Davos on Wednesday. “They’re basically six months into the work,” Bosworth said, adding the models were “very good,” while cautioning the technology was not finished; Meta has been trying to regain momentum in an AI race crowded with rivals including Alphabet’s Google. Reuters
Meta is also pushing harder to turn Threads into a business. The company is expanding ads on Threads to all users globally starting next week, with a gradual rollout that could take months, as the app grows to more than 400 million monthly active users, TechCrunch reported.
Friday’s broader tape was mixed. The S&P 500 ended little changed while the Nasdaq closed higher; Meta rose alongside other megacaps, even as Intel slid after issuing a downbeat outlook that dulled risk appetite late in the week.
Regulators also stayed in the frame. Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom said it opened an investigation into Meta over information it provided about WhatsApp for one of its market reviews, saying the evidence suggested the response “may not have been complete and accurate.” Meta said it would cooperate with the probe. Reuters
In Brazil, a court suspended a preventive measure by antitrust body CADE that had barred Meta from restricting third-party AI tools on WhatsApp Business, Meta said. “We welcome the court decision,” a Meta spokesperson said, while CADE said it would comment after accessing the full ruling. Reuters
But the downside case is easy to sketch. More rules around teens and AI features could slow rollouts or force product changes, and a widening net of data and competition reviews can bring legal cost and distraction just as investors demand cleaner execution.
Next up is Wednesday, Jan. 28: Meta’s earnings after the bell, and the Federal Reserve’s scheduled policy meeting concludes that day. Traders will be watching whether Meta’s ad outlook holds up and whether management leans into — or pulls back from — its AI spending plans.
