Meta Platforms Inc. posted sharply higher profit and revenue for its fourth quarter on Wednesday, thanks to higher ad revenue on its social media properties.

President Trump on Wednesday settled a lawsuit that will require Meta to pay about $25 million, most of which will fund a presidential library, multiple outlets reported and a source familiar confirmed to Axios.

The Silicon Valley giant was criticized for giving away its core A.I. technology two years ago for anyone to use. Now that bet is having an impact.

Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will cut back on its content moderation efforts and eliminate fact-checking in the US in favor of the more “democratic” approach that X (formerly Twitter) calls Community Notes, rolling back protections that he claimed had been developed only in response to media and government pressure.

Stocks rose Tuesday, led by tech. AI fears loom as Meta, Microsoft report earnings. Tesla faces policy risks. Fed decision, major earnings, and government cuts ahead.

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth internally announced a reorg of Reality Labs on Monday.

President Trump had sued Meta and other tech firms in 2021, arguing that he had been wrongfully censored by them. Meta also reported revenue and profit growth for the fourth quarter.

Brought by Trump in 2021, the lawsuit alleged Meta improperly suspended his social media accounts following the January 6 attack at the capitol.

Meta Platforms forecast first-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, signaling its bets on pricey artificial intelligence-powered tools were struggling to attract additional digital ad dollars to its social media platforms.

Meta Platforms shares moved higher in after-hours trading after the social media giant posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings but declined to provide a full-year sales outlook amid its planned increase in capital spending.

Mark Mahaney, Evercore ISI head of internet research, joins CNBC's 'The Exchange' to break down expectations for Meta's earnings coming up after the bell.