Meta's strong earnings report sent its stock soaring after hours. The company also made it clear that the AI talent wars come with a hefty price tag.

In the midst of an artificial intelligence spending spree, Meta posted stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter, buoyed by growing ad revenue even as its expenses increased.

Meta posted a second-quarter profit that beat expectations by a wide margin, and revenue that topped forecasts for a 12th-straight quarter, as active users, ad impressions and ad prices all rose. The company also provided a revenue outlook for the current quarter that was better than forecast.

Investors braced for the Federal Reserve's next interest rate decision and earnings from tech giants Microsoft and Meta.

U.S. stock indexes are drifting on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates where they are, a move that could upset President Donald Trump but was one that Wall Street was widely expecting.

The conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Wednesday could produce a historic dissent. If so, investors should be prepared to do, well, nothing, according to one Wall Street veteran. The Fed is seen as virtually certain to leave interest rates unchanged despite intense pressure from President Donald Trump and his allies on Chair Jerome Powell to deliver a cut.