"Meta Platforms Inc.'s better-than-expected sales outlook helped ease Wall Street concerns about plans for unprecedented spending on artificial intelligence this year. The social networking giant topped projections for holiday quarter revenue and gave a strong forecast for the current period during its earnings report Wednesday. Improvements in its online advertising business are making it possible for Meta to spend hundreds of billions of dollars over the next few years on AI infrastructure."
"Meta projected record spending for 2026, driven by Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's aggressive campaign to amass the infrastructure, computing power and talent that he deems necessary to win a competitive AI race. Zuckerberg has said his strategy centers on "front-loading" computing capacity in preparation for reaching the company's goal of superintelligence, a theoretical milestone at which point AI can meet or outperform humans at many tasks."
"To get there, Meta is spending aggressively. The company estimated that full-year capital expenditures will be between $115 billion and $135 billion, exceeding the $110.6 billion average analyst estimate, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. If Meta hits the top-end of that range, it will mean a jump of roughly 87% from 2025, a record year in which cap-ex topped $72 billion."
"Zuckerberg said to look forward to "a major AI acceleration" that's been brewing within the tech industry for over a year. After an overhaul of Meta's AI program in 2025, Zuckerberg said Meta will soon release new models and products, though the Facebook founder's near-term expectations were uncharacteristically subdued: "I expect our first models will be good, but more importantly, we'll show the rapid trajectory that we're on," he said."
Meta topped holiday quarter revenue projections and gave a strong current-period forecast, buoyed by improvements in its online advertising business. The company plans record capital expenditures for 2026 as part of an aggressive campaign to amass infrastructure, computing power and talent for AI. Full-year capex is estimated between $115 billion and $135 billion, above analyst expectations; the top end would represent an roughly 87% increase from 2025. Leadership emphasizes "front-loading" computing capacity to pursue superintelligence and forecasts a near-term release of new models and products, while tempering immediate expectations for breakout performance.
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