NEW YORK, Jan 30, 2026, 12:50 EST — Regular session.
Shares of Meta Platforms dropped 2.6% to $718.78 by midday Friday, erasing much of Thursday’s gains.
The stock jumped 10.4% on Thursday following Meta’s better-than-expected quarterly results and a first-quarter revenue forecast that beat Wall Street estimates, despite warning of a significant rise in spending on data centers and chips. 1
Investors are weighing the trade-off as Meta projects 2026 capital expenditures to hit between $115 billion and $135 billion, fueled by its drive for “personal superintelligence,” the company’s term for highly tailored AI. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts this would be “a big year” for that initiative. John Belton of Gabelli Funds noted that the returns “are coming from the core business” sharpened by AI. 2
Meta’s latest quarterly report showed fourth-quarter revenue hitting $59.89 billion, a 24% jump from last year. The company forecasted revenue between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion for the current quarter. Looking ahead to 2026, Meta expects expenses to come in between $162 billion and $169 billion. They also announced plans to adjust their less-personalised ads format in Europe this quarter. 3
A recent filing on the SEC’s EDGAR platform laid out spending plans, highlighting AI, Reels, wearables, and “infrastructure capacity” as key focuses through 2026. It also cautioned that launching significant new platforms may require years before turning a profit. 4
The broader market dragged, with U.S. stocks slipping after President Donald Trump named former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell. Eric Gerster of AlphaCore Wealth Advisory commented it’s “hard to know exactly what direction Warsh will go,” pointing to his hawkish stance on inflation. 5
Meta’s spending plan leaves slim margin for error. Should ad demand weaken or AI expenses climb quicker than anticipated, investors might shift their view, seeing the stock more as a cash-flow play than a growth story.
Meta shares climbed in early Frankfurt trading Thursday following earnings, as brokers bumped up their price targets. 6
Traders are watching to see if Meta’s ad pricing and user engagement can stay strong amid heavy infrastructure spending, and if competitors’ advances in AI advertising and short video push Meta to react more aggressively.
Coming next is the U.S. jobs report for January, due Feb. 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET. This figure has the potential to shift rate expectations and, in turn, influence sentiment on major tech investments. 7
