Overview
- Meta reported earnings that showed a 13% drop in earnings per share to $6.18 and a 91% fall in free cash flow to $784 million, pressuring its stock and finances.
- Investors reacted with a sharp sell-off after the quarter, with shares falling about 8% and wiping roughly $18 billion from Mark Zuckerberg's net worth in a single trading day.
- Meta has set an unusually large 2026 capital expenditure plan in the $130 billion to $145 billion range and has prioritized spending on AI infrastructure and teams.
- Company executives told investors they have received offers to buy access to spare AI compute and the firm is holding talks to commercialize excess GPU capacity, though any deals remain unconfirmed.
- Shareholders worry the heavy, sustained AI spending could echo the costly Reality Labs metaverse losses and may put continued pressure on margins, cash flow, and near‑term returns.