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Meta plans to increase its capital expenditures to up to $145 billion by 2026, in an offensive led by Mark Zuckerberg to expand chips, servers, networks, and artificial intelligence data centers, as investors assess the risks after the billion-dollar loss of the metaverse.
The forecast of $145 billion in Meta’s capital expenditures for 2026 increases the pressure on Mark Zuckerberg, puts artificial intelligence at the center of the company’s strategy, and opens up the possibility of a new revenue stream with cloud computing.
$145 billion forecast for 2026 places Mark Zuckerberg at the center of the artificial intelligence race, with Meta expanding infrastructure and considering turning excess capacity into a cloud service.
Mark Zuckerberg accelerates shift to AI
Meta is no longer seen as just a social media owner and has started operating as an expanding company. Chips, servers, network, and data centers have entered the strategy.
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The move follows Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon, which plan billion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence. The difference is that Meta is building this infrastructure primarily for internal use.
Today, AI supports recommendations on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. It also strengthens generative advertising, campaign targeting, and engagement, in a business where ads represent about 97% of revenue.
From metaverse frustration to new risk
Investors’ caution has a recent origin. Between 2021 and 2025, Reality Labs accumulated an operational loss of over $70 billion in the bet on virtual reality, while metaverse adoption did not advance.
This history weighs on the new phase. Meta’s shares lost more than 75% between the end of 2021 and 2022, when the market questioned spending led by Zuckerberg.
Now, the fear is that expenses will advance faster than revenue. At the same time, the company generated more than $45 billion in free cash flow in the last four quarters.
Excess capacity could turn into cloud
At the annual shareholders’ meeting, Zuckerberg stated that launching cloud computing is “definitely on the table” if there is excess AI capacity. Third parties are already seeking access to Meta’s computing power.
If it advances, the company would compete with Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. For long-term shareholders, the bet on AI could stop being just a cost and become a new revenue platform.
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