MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan 28, 2026, 14:24 PST
- Meta forecast 2026 capital spending of $115 billion to $135 billion for its “superintelligence” AI push
- The outlook topped analysts’ expectations and helped lift the stock about 9% in extended trading
- The company also guided first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates
Meta Platforms on Wednesday forecast 2026 capital spending of $115 billion to $135 billion as it ramps up an artificial intelligence push it calls “superintelligence,” sending its shares up nearly 9% in extended trading. (CNA)
The scale of the spending matters now because investors have started to flinch at the AI arms race: data centers, chips and talent are getting more expensive, and payback is uncertain. Meta is effectively telling the market it plans to keep its foot down, even as Wall Street scrutinises margins.
For Meta, the bet rests on a simple trade. Advertising is still throwing off cash, and the company is leaning on that engine to fund a buildout that could reshape how it targets ads and sells new AI tools — if it works.
Capital expenditures, or capex, is the cash a company spends on long-lived assets such as data centers and servers. Meta said higher infrastructure costs — including third-party cloud spend and depreciation — and higher employee compensation for AI hires would push 2026 total expenses to $162 billion to $169 billion, while first-quarter revenue is expected at $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion. (Meta)
Meta’s profit and revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 beat expectations. Revenue rose 24% to $59.89 billion and net income climbed to $22.77 billion, or $8.88 per share, Meta said, with daily active people across its apps averaging 3.58 billion in December. (Meta)
On the earnings call, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg framed 2026 as “a big year for delivering personal superintelligence.” In Meta’s usage, superintelligence is the idea of AI systems that can outperform humans — still theoretical, but now the label for its internal push. (Investing)
The company is building gigawatt-scale data centers in the United States, including one in rural Louisiana that President Donald Trump has said would cost $50 billion. Meta has also signed contracts with Alphabet, CoreWeave and Nebius for extra computing power as it runs into internal capacity limits. (Reuters)
Meta is trying to keep its core ad business moving while it spends. Reuters has reported strong adoption of Meta’s Advantage+ tools, which automate parts of ad buying, while Instagram’s Reels continues to compete with TikTok and YouTube Shorts in short video. (Reuters)
Analysts said the strength of the ad business is buying Meta some time. “If there were any signs of revenue shortfall, investors would look at the capital expenditures more negatively,” said Debra Aho Williamson, chief analyst at Sonata Insights. (AP News)
Even so, the spending guide was the pressure point going in. “An expense guide at around 30% 2026 growth could be positive, while at/above 35% a negative,” Bank of America analyst Justin Post said in a note cited by Business Insider. (Business Insider)
The risk is that the bill comes due before the payoff does. If ad demand softens, or if Meta’s new AI products fail to drive measurable gains, higher depreciation and cloud costs could weigh on profit and test investor patience.
Meta is also trimming elsewhere. The company is cutting about 10% of staff in its Reality Labs unit, which houses its metaverse and related hardware efforts, as it shifts resources toward wearables, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
