NEW YORK, May 28, 2026, 05:04 EDT
- Meta shares ended Wednesday at $635.25, rising 3.74% after the company rolled out new paid options for its apps and AI tools and investors bought in.
- Wall Street gets a simpler revenue view after Meta set its 2026 capital expenditures between $125 billion and $145 billion.
- What’s at stake: users could balk at new fees, AI expenses could top added revenue, and legal issues are still hanging over the company.
Meta Platforms heads into Thursday trading after rolling out paid plans for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI. For investors, it’s another shot at finding out how much of Meta’s AI investment can be turned into new sales. Shares finished Wednesday at $635.25, up $22.91, or 3.74%. Early premarket data showed almost no move at $635.255.
Meta says timing is key. The company now sees 2026 capital spending at $125 billion to $145 billion, raising its earlier outlook of $115 billion to $135 billion. The higher spend on data centers and chips is what’s driving the rally.
Meta is rolling out Facebook Plus, Instagram Plus and WhatsApp Plus worldwide, head of product Naomi Gleit said, according to Channel NewsAsia. She added that Meta has more plans for business tools, creator features and artificial intelligence products. Gleit called the launch a small step but hinted it signals a bigger change.
Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus carry price tags of $3.99 per month each, and WhatsApp Plus is $2.99. Meta is running tests on Meta One Plus at $7.99 a month and Meta One Premium at $19.99 a month, targeting users who need more Meta AI features, such as expanded image and video generation, The Verge said.
Gleit told Barron’s the paid social plans give users “richer ways to express and connect.” She also said AI users would receive “more capacity, bigger, more complex requests, and more room to create.” Barron’s
Ads still do most of the work for Meta. The company booked $55.02 billion in ad revenue for the first quarter, versus $885 million from everything else in its Family of Apps segment. Meta continues to rely mostly on ad sales from Facebook, Instagram and the rest.
But this is in line with what Meta’s management has been saying. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors on the April earnings call that the company saw “clear monetization opportunities over time” from personal AI agents. He pointed to things like “commission structures or a premium offering.”
Zuckerberg, on the call, said some users might be “willing to pay a lot of money” for premium or high-compute AI tools. He said high compute refers to more processing power, which often needs expensive chips and data centers.
Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities told CNBC Meta’s shares were “not reflecting the revenue opportunities” as investors questioned if people are willing to pay for subscription products. YouTube
Meta isn’t the only one moving here. Alphabet’s Google is also adjusting how it packages paid AI and subscriptions, The Verge reported. Big tech is hunting for steady revenue streams to back up AI infrastructure costs.
But there are problems. Some users might not want to pay for features they thought were included. Rising AI use might push Meta’s server and chip costs up faster than it can get from subscriptions. Meta has also said it could take a hit if youth issues and U.S. litigation go against it.
Meta’s $3.99 plan isn’t just about moving earnings on Thursday. The question is whether investors keep seeing the move as evidence Meta can turn AI use into real revenue before costs climb and regulators step in.
