• Newark Liberty International Airport issued a ground stop on Wednesday, citing staffing issues.
• The ground stop was later updated to a ground delay.
• The government shutdown has led to widespread flight disruptions this month.

A ground stop was briefly issued at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday, with the Federal Aviation Administration citing staffing issues.

The ground stop was updated to a ground delay shortly after, with an average delay time of 40 minutes, an FAA advisory said.

Airports around the country have experienced flight disruptions since the government shutdown began on October 1, with many citing staffing shortages.

The FAA, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and the Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox Business on October 8 that prior to the shutdown, around 5% of flight delays were caused by staffing issues. After the shutdown, staffing shortages accounted for 53% of delays, he said.

Airports that have experienced significant delays this month include Nashville International, Chicago O’Hare, and Dallas-Fort Worth, among others.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association previously told Business Insider that the delays during the shutdown highlighted the need to address the existing air traffic controller shortage by increasing training and hiring.

“It is normal for a few air traffic controllers to call in sick on any given day, and this is the latest example of how fragile our aviation system is in the midst of a national shortage of these critical safety professionals,” the NATCA said.

It’s earnings day for Meta.

The social media giant is one of “hyperscalers” at the heart of Wall Street’s AI trade, and updates on its AI ambitions will likely be the highlight of its third-quarter report after the bell on Wednesday.

Wall Street expects revenue of $49.5 billion, and investors will be waiting to hear more on its plans for capex and how it will monetize AI. Meta recently invested $14 billion in Scale AI with the goal of reaching AI “superintelligence.”

Overall, Wall Street analysts remain bullish on the social media company, looking for positive updates on the trajectory of AI, but also ad spend, Instagram Reels, and devices.

Meta’s earnings will be released shortly after the closing bell, with the analyst call scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.

What a Forrester VP will be listening for

Forrester VP and Research Director Mike Proulx told Business Insider that Meta’s third quarter was “flooded with feature updates, device announcements, and operational moves,” with AI as the common thread. “Of particular note is the launch of Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, which effectively launched a new computing platform,” Proulx said. “During the earnings call, I’ll be listening for an update on sales. I suspect these glasses will mostly attract early tech-curious adopters, and that demos will far outpace actual purchases.”

He added that Reels’ prominence on Instagram continues to grow as the app edges closer to TikTok, and that advertisers are unlikely to pull back spending despite Meta losing brand-safety accreditation from the Media Rating Council, given the platform’s reach and performance.

What is Meta’s TBD crew building?

Meta has quietly assembled one of the most expensive AI teams in Silicon Valley under its Meta Superintelligence Labs division, hiring top researchers from DeepMind and OpenAI and spending billions on infrastructure. Yet the elite unit responsible for building next-generation AI models — literally named TBD — remains a black box. Investors will be listening closely for any clues from Zuckerberg on what, exactly, it’s building.

Meta has suggested its new Ray-Ban Displays are selling well

In September, the company debuted its new Ray-Ban Displays at the Connect conference. The glasses come with a built-in screen that displays text messages, maps, and captions over the real world.

The Displays went on sale in late September. Within days, CTO Andrew Bosworth posted on Threads that the glasses were sold out and demos were booked up through November at “almost every store.”

Expect further questions on the analyst call about the sales mix between the screen-free Meta Ray-Ban AI glasses and the more expensive Ray-Ban Displays.

Meta and OpenAI’s rival AI feeds

In September, Meta released its new short-form AI video feed, Vibes. Some tech founders and execs quickly roasted it as “AI slop.” Days later, OpenAI released its new video generation model, Sora 2. Its own short-form Sora app quickly topped the App Store charts.

OpenAI has said that 1 million people downloaded the Sora app within five days, while Similarweb data indicates that the Meta AI app’s downloads surged by 100,000 after the Vibes feed launched. We might get some further data points on Vibes engagement among Meta’s users on the earnings call.

Meta’s changing head count

Meta has faced some dramatic changes to its headcount in the past few months. After doling out big contracts to staff up its superintelligence unit, Meta cut 600 jobs from it. Meta also cut staff in its risk division as the company automated its review process, per a memo viewed by Business Insider.

These cuts come after January’s broader layoffs, when Meta cut 5% of its workforce — roughly 3,600 employees — that the company labeled “low performers.”

It’ll be interesting to see if Zuckerberg or CFO Susan Li talks about plans for future head count growth — or if they anticipate head count to remain flat or decrease in the coming quarters.

Keep track: How many times AI is mentioned vs. the metaverse

When Facebook rebranded to Meta in 2021, Zuckerberg declared a “very long-term bet” on the metaverse. The company then spent billions on projects like Horizon. The fervor has since quieted, though the company announced a new AI feature to build 3D worlds with text at its September Meta Connect event.

On Monday, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth told employees the company was reshuffling its metaverse unit in a memo viewed by Business Insider. “The priority of the metaverse work remains unchanged, and it continues to be a companywide priority,” he wrote.

Listen for any changes to the AI capex number for 2025

Mark Zuckerberg said Meta could spend up to $72 billion this year on AI infrastructure. Will Zuck raise that number even higher? It’s possible, but if all this AI capex spend is really hurting Meta’s free cash flow and margins, investors might start feeling uneasy.

That’s why they’ll be laser-focused on Meta’s advertising business, which still makes up most of the company’s earnings. If ad numbers are healthy — and right now, expectations from Wall Street are high — then Zuck probably has more runway for his AI bets.

DA Davidson is eyeing comparisons with Alphabet

Tech analysts at DA Davidson wrote ahead of Meta’s earnings that they’re watching for how Meta does compared to its Magnificent Seven peer Alphabet, which also reports results on Wednesday.

“We expect META to continue outgrowing Google’s ad revenue, though growth may decelerate on tougher comps (including elections),” the firm said in a client note. “We do not expect growth at Google to decelerate significantly, though we are monitoring OpenAI closely, as we believe the likely introduction of advertising around ChatGPT may create a headwind for Google Search advertising growth.”

DA Davidson has an $825 price target and a “Buy” rating on Meta stock.

CFRA sees Meta meeting high expectations, thinks capex will remain lofty

CFRA analysts think Meta earnings will deliver.

“Ahead of Q3 2025 results on October 29, we believe consensus views are well aligned with reality, as META’s AI investments allow it to outpace the broader digital ad market,” CFRA said in a note. “We currently see META posting a growth pace of about 21%-22% in Q3.”

Expect Meta’s AI spending plans to stay elevated, in the $66-72 billion range for 2025, the firm said.

CFRA rates the stock a “Buy” and has an $880 price target for the stock, representing potential upside of 16%.

Meta is a top pick for JPMorgan, with analysts bullish on AI strategy and superintelligence

JPMorgan’s Doug Annuth wrote that he’s bullish on the social media company’s AI push ahead of earnings. After a big round of layoffs in Meta’s AI unit, there’s a lot of anticipation for updates on the superintelligence strategy.

“We’re bullish on AI Ad improvements, Reels, & Video. META continues to execute well across its AI strategy & push toward personal superintelligence prioritizing ads, engagement, business messaging, Meta AI, & AI Devices.”

The bank has an $875 price target on the stock, implying 15% upside.

BofA says AI outlook will be ‘critical’ for sentiment

Bank of America analysts say they’re watching what Meta says about AI, and that a disappointing update on monetization or future ambitions could sour investor sentiment.

They also said that they’ll be looking at comparisons with Alphabet, which also reports results on Wednesday.

“Meta will report concurrently with Alphabet & we think investors will focus on revenue growth differentials & relative margin performance,” Bank of America analysts wrote.

The bank continued: “Meta should compare well, we expect 23% y/y growth vs 13% for Google properties in 3Q, with Meta possibly accelerating on AI driven improvements in targeting, deeper CRM integrations, video model unification & growing advertiser adoption of Gen-AI-powered creative tools.”

The bank has a $900 price target on Meta stock, a 19% increase from current levels.

Wall Street is predicting Q3 revenue of $49.5 billion and EPS of $6.72

THIRD QUARTER

• Revenue estimate $49.57 billion
• Advertising rev. estimate $48.57 billion
• Family of Apps revenue estimate $49.02 billion
• Reality Labs revenue estimate $317 million
• Other revenue estimate $597 million
• Operating income estimate $19.47 billion
• Family of Apps operating income estimate $24.77 billion
• Reality Labs operating loss estimate $5.18 billion
• Operating margin estimate 39.3%
• EPS estimate $6.72
• Ad impressions estimate +10.8%
• Average price per ad estimate +10.5%
• Average Family service users per day estimate 3.48 billion

  FOURTH QUARTER

• Revenue estimate $57.35 billion
• Capital expenditure estimate $21.13 billion

  YEAR

• Total expenses estimate $115.63 billion
• Capital expenditure estimate $69.29 billion

Source: Bloomberg

• General Motors laid off roughly 1,750 workers and temporarily cut another 3,750.
• The cuts were centered at Factory Zero in Detroit, but also affected facilities in Ohio and Tennessee.
• A GM representative said the cuts were in response to “slower near-term EV adoption.”

General Motors is temporarily cutting about 5,500 roles as it makes changes to its EV strategy. Roughly 1,750 of those employees will be laid off indefinitely.

On Wednesday, GM confirmed that it was “rerating” its Factory Zero plant in Detroit, Michigan, to downsize from two shifts to one. Of the roughly 3,400 workers furloughed from the plant over the summer, 2,200 will return, while 1,200 will be placed on indefinite layoff.

The 2,200 workers will return on January 5, 2026.

“In response to slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment, General Motors is realigning EV capacity,” a GM representative wrote in a statement. “Despite these changes, GM remains committed to our U.S. manufacturing footprint.”

The Detroit News earlier reported on the layoffs.

GM also confirmed that it will shut down two Ultium Cells battery plants in Warren, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee, between January 5 and mid-2026.

700 workers in Spring Hill will be placed on temporary layoff, GM confirmed. 850 workers in Warren will be placed on temporary layoff, while 550 workers will be placed on indefinite layoff.

“Ultium Cells is adjusting production in response to recent changes in customer plant demand,” a GM representative wrote in a statement. “During the temporary pause Ultium Cells plans to make upgrades to both facilities to provide greater flexibility.”

GM has been rolling back its ambitious EV plan. In a regulatory filing earlier this month, the company said that it was taking $1.6 billion in charges as it adjusts its EV strategy amid expectations that demand for electric vehicles is slowing.

The company also laid off hundreds of workers last week while restructuring its design engineering team.

• Amazon is laying off 14,000 corporate employees.
• Some workers who said they were laid off from Amazon shared their experiences online.
• They turned to platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn with a mix of jokes and calls to action.

One woman is processing being laid off while on a tropical vacation. Another’s “get ready with me” video turned sour after she said she’d learned her fate.

With as many as 14,000 Amazon employees set to lose their jobs, some workers who said they were laid off by the e-commerce company are posting through it on social media. Several of them are sharing updates in real time as they process their feelings about the reductions.

The person who posted the “get ready with me” video, for example, had planned to take her followers along with her for a morning run when she said he learned she was affected by the cuts.

“I no longer have a job to go to after I go running,” the TikToker said in one of her videos.

A few others are posting almost hourly updates on how they’re doing since the cuts were announced. One user, who said she’s on vacation in Mauritius, posted a video two hours after she said she learned she was laid off.

She said it was “divine intervention.”

“I’m not freaking out,” she said. “I’m also still very much in shock.”

Others don’t seem to be taking it so well. One TikTok creator who said she worked at Amazon told followers on Tuesday, when the company announced the layoffs, to place bets on whether she’d be affected. The next day, she said she’d been let go after more than eight years at the company.

Since then, her updates have been a mix of jokes, including telling her cats the news, and crying videos. One of her videos has gone viral, with nearly 200,000 views in less than 24 hours.

Some posts were bittersweet. One person who said their Amazon Games studio was affected said they would work with their team again “in a heartbeat.”

Others hit the ground running on LinkedIn, changing their status on the professional networking platform to “#OpenToWork” and asking connections for leads on open positions.

On Reddit, dozens of people have begun crowdsourcing a list of affected roles and divisions to determine which areas were hit the hardest.

Posting through the pain of being laid off isn’t a new concept. Many people, specifically Gen Zers, have gone viral in posts about losing their jobs. It’s all about validating their feelings about being fired and seeking human connection, one workplace researcher told Business Insider in 2024.

Amazon declined to comment on the social media posts.

This week, one woman said she was working in her “dream role” as a social media manager at Amazon before being laid off less than a month after celebrating her one-year anniversary in the position and a week before her birthday.

“I guess my present from Amazon came a little bit early,” she said in the clip.

• A judge allowed a class-action lawsuit from authors to move forward against OpenAI and Microsoft.
• He pointed to a ChatGPT-generated book idea for George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series.
• The judge hasn’t decided whether OpenAI is protected by “fair use,” which set back a similar case.

When a federal judge decided to allow a sprawling class-action lawsuit against OpenAI to move forward, he read some “Game of Thrones” fan fiction.

In a court ruling Monday, US District Judge Sidney Stein said a ChatGPT-generated idea for a book in the still-unfinished “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R.R. Martin could have violated the author’s copyright.

“A reasonable jury could find that the allegedly infringing outputs are substantially similar to plaintiffs’ works,” the judge said in the 18-page Manhattan federal court ruling.

The decision was made in a case that consolidated several class-action lawsuits from authors — including Martin, Michael Chabon, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jia Tolentino, and Sarah Silverman, among others — against OpenAI and Microsoft.

They allege OpenAI and Microsoft violated their copyrights by ingesting their books without permission to train large language models, and with “outputs” that resembled their legally protected works.

In his Monday ruling, Stein considered one of the prompts the authors’ lawyers used as an example.

The prompt asked ChatGPT to “write a detailed outline for a sequel to a “A Clash of Kings” that is different from “A Storm of Swords” and takes the story in a different direction.”

“Absolutely!” ChatGPT responded. “Let’s imagine an alternative sequel to ‘A Clash of Kings’ and diverge from the events of ‘A Storm of Swords’. We’ll call this sequel ‘A Dance with Shadows.'”

The artificial intelligence chatbot offered several plot ideas for the book, including the discovery of a novel kind of “ancient dragon-related magic” and new claims to the Iron Throne from “a distant relative of the Targaryens” named Lady Elara, as well as “a rogue sect of Children of the Forest.”

The details in ChatGPT’s response were enough to justify the class action moving forward on copyright infringement grounds, Stein said.

Representatives for OpenAI and Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Manhattan-based judge said he would decide at a later stage whether OpenAI and Microsoft are protected with a “fair use” defense.

Earlier this year, in a similar lawsuit, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Anthropic’s use of copyrighted books to train its large language models was protected by fair use.

Anthropic later settled the lawsuit earlier this year, agreeing to pay $1.5 billion to authors whose works it used to train its large language model without permission.