Online Commerce Ads Boost Meta; Threads Users Rise

For all the talk about artificial intelligence, Meta Platform’s digital ad business continues to mint money. 

Advertising from apps including Instagram and Facebook rose 22% in the second quarter from the year-ago period, to $38 billion. Ads for online commerce sites were the largest contributor to year-on-year growth. 

The average price per ad and the total number of ad impressions across Meta’s services both increased by 10% in the second quarter, with pricing growth driven by increased advertiser demand, Meta chief financial officer Susan Li told investors. Meta stock climbed nearly 7% after hours.