New York, Feb 6, 2026, 4:19 PM EST — After-hours
- Meta dropped roughly 1.3% Friday, sticking close to its session lows even after the bell.
- Rising AI infrastructure costs at Big Tech firms ran up against investors’ focus on immediate profits and cash flow.
- Meta’s ongoing AI efforts stayed in focus after an insider filing and new product tests highlighted both the company’s ambitions and the cost of chasing them.
Meta Platforms slipped 1.3% after hours Friday, landing at $661.42. The stock lagged even as the broader market bounced, with worries about the price tag of the sector’s AI expansion weighing on sentiment.
Meta now serves as a kind of real-time barometer for how much investors are willing to shell out for long-term AI bets, even as spending ramps up in the short term. The Dow cracked 50,000 on Friday, the S&P 500 surged, but nerves still ran high around companies pouring the most money into expanded data-center projects. “This trade has been volatile,” Baird investment strategy analyst Ross Mayfield said. 1
Big tech’s ambitious $600 billion AI outlay set for 2026 has investors wrestling with timing on returns—and the question of who’s footing that enormous tab. “It’s not that the trade is over, but it got too pricey,” said Andrew Wells, chief investment officer at SanJac Alpha. He pointed to a “de-risking trade” as Amazon and Alphabet ramped up their capital spending plans. 2
Meta’s got a hefty figure looming. Back in late January, the company behind Instagram bumped its 2026 capex target up to $115 billion-$135 billion, mostly thanks to rising infrastructure outlays. It also flagged more spending ahead as it brings in more AI talent. Capital expenditures—better known as “capex”—covers things like servers and data centers built to last. 3
Meta is trying out a standalone “Vibes” app focused on AI-generated short videos, taking what used to be just a feature in its Meta AI app and spinning it out. The company pointed to “strong early traction” as the reason for the move, describing Vibes as a new, dedicated space for AI video creation and sharing. 4
Meta COO Javier Olivan unloaded 517 shares on Feb. 2, cashing out at $714.60 apiece, according to a Form 4. The transaction was carried out under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, letting executives lock in trades ahead of time. 5
Right now, traders are watching ads—still the main story. Meta is betting that its AI will tighten targeting, boost measurement, lock in user attention. But those gains aren’t cheap. Alphabet, ByteDance’s TikTok, Snap—they’re all racing for ad dollars, fighting for every short-video minute.
But the bear scenario is hard to miss: when AI costs outpace gains in ad revenue, pressure on margins and cash flow builds fast. There’s also a legal cloud over Meta. A bellwether social-media-addiction case kicks off in Los Angeles next week, with opening statements on deck; Meta’s spokesperson says the case concerns products “millions of people use responsibly.” 6
U.S. inflation figures are up next for growth stocks sensitive to interest rates. The January 2026 Consumer Price Index drops Feb. 13 at 8:30 a.m. ET. 7
