Leaked Zuckerberg Audio Reveals Meta Uses Employee Work as AI Training Data; Q1 2026 EPS of $10.44 Beats Consensus Amid $125–$145 Billion Capex Guidance

In leaked audio from an April 30, 2026 Meta all-hands, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that AI models learn from watching smart people work, and that internal employees building tools would 'dramatically increase our model's coding ability faster than what others in the industry have the capability to do.' Employees were subsequently told to work from home for humanitarian reasons and received termination emails the next day with access cards deactivated.

Meta posted Q1 2026 EPS of $10.44 versus $6.66 consensus on revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33% year over year. Operating margin sits at 41%, and net income jumped 61% year over year to $26.77 billion, helped by an $8.03 billion tax benefit tied to R&D capitalization treatment.

Meta raised full-year 2026 capex guidance to $125 to $145 billion, with full-year expenses guided at $162 to $169 billion. Zuckerberg framed the quarter as the launch of 'our first model from Meta Superintelligence Labs' and articulated a productivity flywheel in which the workforce produces both output and the data to automate that output.

META trades at $610.26 as of May 22, 2026, down 0% from the April 30 leak date. Reality Labs continues to absorb a $4.03 billion operating loss per quarter on top of the capex ramp.