Meta's net income jumped 264% last quarter.

Its operating profit fell 37%. Both numbers came from the same report on Wednesday.

The gap comes down to two things. A year ago Meta paid an unusually high 87% tax rate, so this year's 24% made net income look huge by comparison. And this quarter it booked a $9.89 billion charge for its settlement with 52 state attorneys general over teen mental health, which cut operating profit to $12.99 billion. Under all that, the core business did well: revenue grew 26% to $64.6 billion, and Meta guided fourth-quarter revenue to $73-76 billion. It also narrowed its 2026 capital spending plan to $135-145 billion and announced a new class of non-voting shares to help pay for its AI build-out. The stock rose as much as 4% in late trading.

Tesla beat too, with adjusted earnings of 48 cents a share against 45 expected and revenue of $28.05 billion, and its shares rose about 2% after hours. During the regular session, the Nasdaq gained 1.05% to 26,702.86, the S&P 500 rose 0.58% to 7,757.17, and the Dow added 0.69% to 52,856.09. SpaceX jumped 7.8% after its first profit as a public company, and Elon Musk said a SpaceX and Tesla merger would be "a good idea." Not everything was green: Netflix fell 5.3% to a 52-week low, and AT&T sank 6.5% even after beating estimates.

A quick check before you trade on an earnings headline:

1. Find the operating profit, not just net income or EPS. Taxes and one-time charges can make a quarter look far better or worse than the business really did.
2. Look for the word "charge" or "excluding" in the release. Then decide for yourself whether that cost is truly one-time.
3. Read the guidance. The next quarter's outlook often moves the stock more than the quarter that just ended.
4. Remember that late-trading moves happen on thin volume. A 4% jump at 4:30 PM can look very different by the next morning's open.

That's what TradeShield is built for: helping you look past the headline number to the risk underneath.

Stay sharp out there.

— Spidah, Founder & CEO

Market awareness, not financial advice. Trading involves risk.