Meta Platforms just told the market it plans to spend more money on AI than most countries collect in annual tax revenue. The company raised its full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to a range of $125B to $145B, up from a prior forecast of $115B to $135B. Investors were not thrilled.
Shares dropped roughly 10% following the April 29-30 earnings release, erasing approximately $150B in market capitalization.
What actually changed
The headline number is striking on its own, but the year-over-year math is what puts it in perspective. Meta’s actual 2025 capital expenditures came in at $72.2B. The midpoint of the new 2026 guidance sits at roughly $135B, which works out to an 87% increase year-over-year. In English: Meta is planning to spend nearly twice as much building AI infrastructure this year as it did last year.
The company cited two main drivers. First, the cost of AI compute components has risen faster than originally modeled. Second, internal demand for those components has grown beyond earlier projections.
