Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Meta Leans Into AI With 2026 Capex of $115–$135 Billion as Q1 Growth Outlook Accelerates

Investors weigh a heavy 2026 AI buildout against faster near-term growth.

Overview

  • Meta forecasts Q1 2026 revenue growth of 26% to 34%, signaling acceleration from late 2025.
  • Management plans to nearly double 2026 capital spending to $115 billion to $135 billion to scale AI infrastructure.
  • AI-driven ad tools, including the generative ads recommendation model (GEM) and sequence learning, are boosting targeting, impressions, and pricing.
  • Meta is expanding monetization beyond its core apps with a gradual rollout of ads on WhatsApp and Threads and reports paid messaging on WhatsApp at a run rate above $2 billion.
  • The company is steering metaverse efforts toward AI-integrated hardware such as smart glasses, even as Reality Labs continues to post sizable losses.