Meta shares plunge 11% as AI spending hits $145bn

Meta shares fell 11% on July 29, 2026, after the company raised its full-year artificial-intelligence capital-spending forecast even as quarterly profit declined.

Revenue for the April-to-June quarter of 2026 rose 28% year-over-year to $39.07 billion, but net income dropped 14% to $7.79 billion. The social-media giant now expects to invest $130 billion to $145 billion in 2026, up from a $125 billion projection just three months earlier, with most of the spending earmarked for AI.

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said the heavy spending is “accelerating every part of our core business.” He credited AI with boosting user engagement on Instagram and Facebook and helping small businesses create advertisements.

Zuckerberg also announced plans to start selling AI technology to other companies, beginning with making the Muse Spark AI model easier to integrate. He unveiled ambitions to develop AI agents—autonomous chatbots that work on behalf of users—calling them “the next wave” of Meta’s product line.

The company aims to build a large business serving enterprises through application programming interfaces and productivity services, he said. Zuckerberg acknowledged the significant financial opportunity but noted it “requires flexing a different muscle than we’ve historically had.”