Artificial Intelligence

Meta Quarterly Revenue Jumps 24%, Plans to Double AI Spending in 2026

Is Meta's AI investment a strategic bet on a transformative technology or a mistake in light of an inflating AI bubble?

Published JAN 29

Meta Quarterly Revenue Jumps 24%, Plans to Double AI Spending in 2026

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Above: Mark Zuckerberg at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 17, 2025. Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

Meta announced plans at its Q4 2025 earnings call on Wednesday to nearly double its capital expenditure from $72.22 billion in 2025 to between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026, as part of the tech giant's continued investments in AI.
Meta
The Wall Street Journal
BBC News
Speaking to analysts during the call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called 2026 "the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work" and reported that the company was already seeing projects that had required "big teams" be handled by "a single very talented person."
Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook
Yahoo Finance on Youtube
Zuckerberg also confirmed that Meta would release new AI models and products in the coming months and would invest "very significantly" in infrastructure to deliver personal superintelligence to billions. This follows his previous announcement of Meta Compute, which will build "hundreds of gigawatts" of AI data center capacity.
Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook
Yahoo Finance on Youtube
Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook
Separately, the company announced that its revenues increased by 24% and 22% year-over-year for Q4 2025 and for the 12 months ending Dec. 31, to $59.89 billion and $200.97 billion, respectively.
Meta
Looking ahead, the company expects its Q1 2026 revenue to range from $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion, with annual total expenses projected between $162 billion and $169 billion. Meta also expects Reality Labs to incur losses similar to those in 2025.
Meta
The markets reacted positively to the announcement and Meta's record revenues, with the company's share price rising by as much as 10% in after-hours trading from roughly $670 per share to over $740.
Google Finance
Financial Times
CNBC

Sources Split

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The Spin

Techno-skeptic narrative

Meta's announcement is further evidence of an ever-inflating AI bubble, which, with every delayed reality check, will become increasingly catastrophic when it inevitably pops. After all, even marginally improving the technology requires resources and funding levels that are totally unsustainable. When reality hits home, Meta will come to regret its reckless AI spending commitments.

Nick Huber on X

Bindu Reddy on X

Techno-optimist narrative

As Meta's record revenue and investments show, there is no AI bubble. Rather, this technology and the promise it holds could revolutionize commerce, user experiences and how billions interact, with the technology already unlocking $4.5 trillion in labor value. Meta infrastructure spending, therefore, is not folly, but a strategic bet on a transformative capability that is only growing stronger.