New York, February 6, 2026, 10:27 ET — Regular session
Meta Platforms shares fell 2.3% to $654.86 Friday morning, underperforming the more stable broader market. Investors remained skeptical about Big Tech’s returns amid another wave of AI spending.
The selling is notable because the AI trade isn’t moving as one anymore. Investors are beginning to differentiate between probable winners and companies facing heavier costs before revenue kicks in, with the industry planning around $600 billion in AI infrastructure spending by 2026.
Meta has upped its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to between $115 billion and $135 billion, citing increased hiring of AI specialists. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts the firm aims to develop “personal superintelligence,” while CFO Susan Li cautioned that capacity constraints are likely to linger through most of 2026. Reuters
“Investors are drawing a clear line between companies enabling AI and those that could be disrupted,” Saxo chief investment strategist Charu Chanana noted. At the same time, Liontrust’s Mark Hawtin commented that the market has “no longer tolerat[ed] spending for spending’s sake.” Reuters
The tone shifted sharply this week after Anthropic’s Claude, a large language model powering many chatbots, sparked fresh concerns that AI might threaten software and data-services companies. Meta dropped 3.2% on Feb. 4 as investors pulled back from the theme across the sector.
On Friday, stock indexes found some footing following a tough week, though all eyes remained on capital expenditures after Amazon’s recent surge in spending. “There’s a period of greater discernment,” said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, noting that the market has begun to penalize companies that hint at increased AI capex. Reuters
This week, Meta faced a minor operational hiccup when Instagram went down briefly, sparking over 10,000 user reports in the U.S., Downdetector data shows. Meta has yet to comment on the outage, according to a Reuters request.
Another insider move surfaced in a regulatory filing. Meta COO Javier Olivan offloaded 517 Class A shares at $714.60 each on Feb. 2, using a Rule 10b5-1 plan—a prearranged trading strategy for insiders—according to a Form 4 filed Feb. 4.
Meta bulls face a bigger threat if AI-related costs come due before the benefits show up, narrowing the margin for errors at a time when investors are already nervous about tech spending. “We’re seeing this volatility about whether this investment will translate… into results,” said Tom Hainlin, an investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, referring to the capex surge in large-cap tech. Reuters
Pressure is driving money out of tech and into some of the market’s less popular sectors. “Rotation is the dominant theme this year,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones. He also pointed out that investors have frequently chosen to lock in gains in tech. Reuters
The U.S. January employment report drops Feb. 11 at 8:30 a.m. ET and could shift rate forecasts and risk appetite. This follows a week dominated by debates over AI spending and its repercussions.
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