Meta just bumped its 2026 capex forecast up to as much as $145 billion for the AI boom—and investors flinched
Meta increased its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to between $125 billion and $145 billion, citing higher component prices and data center costs, which led to a more than 6% drop in its stock during after-hours trading. Despite strong revenue and profit growth in Q1 2026, investors reacted negatively compared to Alphabet and Amazon, whose shares rose on cloud-driven AI growth. CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized confidence in Meta's AI investments, highlighting custom silicon development and efficiency improvements, though he offered limited specifics on return-on-investment metrics.
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Meta Platforms is splashing some serious cash on AI infrastructure, and investors have flinched. Recommended Video The company reported first quarter 2026 earnings results on Wednesday and raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $125 billion to $145 billion, up from a previous range of $115 billion to $135 billion. Meta told investors the boost was the result of higher prices for components and “additional data center costs to support future-year capacity.” Last year, Meta spent $72.2 billion on capex, up roughly $30 billion from the year before. The company is now guiding to nearly double what it spent in 2025, and more than it spent in 2025 and 2024 combined. In after-hours trading, the stock tumbled more than 6% as a result of the jump in capex guidance.
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