Meta rallies 9% as strong ad revenue cushions AI spending

Meta soared nearly 9% on Thursday after its rosy revenue growth signaled that strong digital-ad spending on its social media platforms can cover the cost of its AI investments.

The parent company of Facebook was on track to add about $120 billion to its market value of $1.204 trillion, after it topped second-quarter revenue expectations and forecast growth for the July-September period that was above Wall Street’s estimates.