New York, January 14, 2026, 09:40 (ET) — Regular session
- Meta shares dipped in early trading as investors balanced Reality Labs’ budget cuts with the company’s renewed push into AI infrastructure
- Zuckerberg highlighted plans for “tens of gigawatts” of computing power over the next decade, raising questions about energy use and capital expenditures
- Traders are focused on cost discipline, the momentum in wearables, and the Fed’s upcoming decision later this month
Meta Platforms (META.O) shares dropped 1.7% Wednesday morning, mirroring a slight pullback in the broader market. Investors weighed new indications that the company is scaling back Reality Labs and shifting more focus to AI infrastructure. The stock lost $11.10, landing at $631.09, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq ETFs edged down under 0.2%.
The timing is crucial as Meta juggles two costly commitments: scaling back loss-making metaverse projects while continuing to invest heavily in computing infrastructure to compete in AI. Any shift on either front can sway the financials, and traders have been swift to react to unexpected spending changes.
Cost control grabs the spotlight for the stock, but the real wildcard is Meta’s approach to data centers and energy. The debate isn’t just about the size of the spend anymore—it’s how quickly Meta ramps it up that’s stirring discussion.
Late Monday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced “Meta Compute,” a new effort to manage the company’s global data centers and supplier network, appointing infrastructure head Santosh Janardhan and Daniel Gross as co-leads. On Threads, Zuckerberg said, “Meta is planning to build tens of gigawatts this decade, and hundreds of gigawatts or more over time,” referring to electrical capacity. The company also revealed a commitment of up to $72 billion in capital expenditures for 2025—funds aimed at major projects like data centers and equipment. Additionally, Meta secured 20-year power purchase agreements with three Vistra nuclear plants. 1
Meta’s Reality Labs, the division handling virtual reality hardware, software, and its metaverse push, is facing major cuts amid a broader spending crackdown. The New York Times reported the company plans to trim about 10% of the unit’s staff. Reality Labs employs roughly 15,000 people, according to Reuters, and has burned through over $60 billion since 2020. Reuters also highlighted mounting pressure on Meta to stay competitive in AI after its Llama 4 model was poorly received. 2
Meta has confirmed the layoffs at Reality Labs, describing them as a realignment of priorities. “We were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward Wearables,” spokesperson Tracy Clayton told The Verge. She added the company intends to reinvest the savings to boost wearables growth. According to the report, the cuts also involve shutting down several VR game studios. 3
Wearables stand out as a rare bright spot in demand. Bloomberg News says Meta and EssilorLuxottica are considering doubling their AI-powered Ray-Ban smart glasses production to 20 million units annually by the end of 2026, according to Reuters. No final call has been made yet. Reuters couldn’t confirm the story independently. EssilorLuxottica declined to comment, and Meta didn’t immediately respond. 4
The tape showed caution across the board. Wall Street was poised to slip at the open as investors parsed big-bank earnings alongside new economic data. “Markets are taking a little time to digest” the results after a strong start to the year, Jake Johnston, deputy CIO at Advisors Asset Management, told Reuters. 5
The downside scenario is clear. If demand for power-intensive computing ramps up quicker than expected, margins could come under pressure. Efforts to secure electricity supply may also face scrutiny over resource limits and infrastructure bottlenecks. Meanwhile, trimming costs in Reality Labs might save cash but risks slowing product development and stirring internal uncertainty.
Meta watchers will be looking to see if the market begins factoring in a higher baseline for spending, as AI infrastructure moves into a multi-year expansion. Outside of company news, tech stocks sensitive to interest rates might also respond to the Federal Reserve’s January 27-28 meeting and its 2026 schedule. 6
