Meta stock is splitting in two: why your new shares won’t vote

The split works by stock dividend, a payout made in new shares rather than cash. Owners of Meta’s existing Class A or Class B shares will each receive one Class C share per share held. The new shares will be publicly traded but carry no voting rights.

Chief financial officer Susan Li said on the earnings call that the class was created to be used for capital raising, employee pay, acquisitions and general corporate purposes, while protecting the voting power of current Class A and B holders. She also said it keeps Meta’s founder-led structure in place.

In plain terms, here is what changes for a typical shareholder:

• You’ll own twice as many shares, split between your current class and the new Class C.
• Your voting power stays as it is, because Class C shares don’t vote.
• Meta gains a new currency it can issue later without shifting control of the company.

The catch is that last point. When Meta issues more Class C shares in future, existing owners will hold a smaller slice of the company’s profits, even though Zuckerberg’s control won’t budge.

Meta needs the money because its costs are rising far faster than its sales. Revenue grew 26% in the third quarter, but costs and expenses jumped 68% from a year earlier as the company poured money into AI.

That spending is starting to show results. Meta’s Muse assistant passed 10.9 million downloads, 10.2 million of them in the US, within 40 days of its September launch. Zuckerberg said more than 10 million people in the US and Canada set up Muse personal agents in about six weeks, and that the app had been number one in the App Store almost every day. The company has also released a run of AI models, including Muse Spark, Muse Glimmer, a more powerful model called Muse Wonder, an open-weight version anyone can build on called Muse Spark Open, and a coding tool for developers named Muse Code.

Zuckerberg said Muse has found its audience and is moving into a phase focused on scaling it, with the long-term aim of reaching billions of people. Reality Labs, the unit behind Meta’s smart glasses and VR headsets, is still losing money, though Meta expects its losses to shrink from 2025 levels to between $18 billion and $19 billion.

The quarter itself was the biggest in Meta’s history. Revenue for the three months to Sept. 30 reached $64.60 billion, up from $51.24 billion a year earlier and ahead of the roughly $63.4 billion analysts expected.

Profit is where the picture gets messier. Net income came in at $9.86 billion, or $3.83 per share, well short of forecasts. That figure includes a $9.89 billion charge tied to the settlement Meta reached in August with state attorneys general over teen mental health and social media. Without the charge, earnings would have been $7.40 a share.

The settlement allows for payments of up to about $18.59 billion in total. Beyond the money, Meta agreed to changes meant to protect teens, including banning and blocking certain features for users under 16. Reports differ slightly on the size of the coalition, putting it at 51 or 52 attorneys general, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta among those who brought the case.

Meta’s shares rose in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the results came out.

For most people scrolling Facebook or Instagram, the share change won’t be visible. The settlement is a different story. If you have a teenager under 16 at home, expect some features on Meta’s apps to be switched off or restricted for their accounts as the agreed changes roll out.

The legal pressure isn’t over either. Li warned that Meta continues to see scrutiny on youth issues in several markets and has a number of youth-related trials scheduled in the US over the coming months. More settlements or rulings could bring more product changes.

And the AI push means Muse will keep showing up in more places. If you would rather not use it, keep an eye on the assistant options inside each Meta app as new features arrive.