The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Oct. 30, edition that Meta reported a nearly $16-billion charge in the third quarter linked to President Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, resulting in a 6-per-cent drop in shares (all figures U.S.). A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that excluding the charge, net income would have risen by $15.93-billion to $18.64 billion, compared with a reported net income of $2.71-billion. Meta now expects capital expenditures of $70-billion to $72-billion, up from the previous forecast of $66-billion to $72-billion. Meta benefits from its large user base and an artificial-intelligence-optimized ad platform that helps marketers automate campaigns, enhance video ad quality, translate ads and create persona-based images for targeting customer segments. Meta has launched ads on its messaging platform WhatsApp and social network Threads, directly competing with platforms such as Elon Musk's X, while Instagram's Reels continue to jostle with ByteDance's TikTok and YouTube Shorts for ad revenue in the short-video market. Meta has been doubling down on AI, with a target of achieving superintelligence, a theoretical milestone where machines could outthink humans.