Meta Raises 2026 Capex to Up to $145B — Stock Falls 7% Despite 61% Net Income Jump as Zuckerberg Bets on Superintelligence

Meta raised its 2026 capex guidance to up to $145 billion — nearly double 2025's $72.2 billion. Despite a 61% jump in net income, shares fell about 7%. Zuckerberg called it "the beginning" of delivering personal superintelligence to billions.

Meta Platforms (META) raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance from $115-135 billion to $125-145 billion when reporting Q1 2026 results. That upper bound is nearly double the $72.2 billion Meta spent on capex in all of 2025. The underlying business was strong: revenue jumped 33% year-over-year to $56.3 billion, operating margin held at 41%, and net income climbed 61%. The stock still fell roughly 7% after hours.

Q1 2026 Financials: Fastest Growth Since 2021

• Revenue: $56.3B (+33% YoY — fastest growth since 2021)
• Ad revenue: $55.0B — impressions +19%, price per ad +12% YoY
• Operating margin: 41.2% (near five-year high)
• Net income: +61% YoY
• Cash from operations: $32.2B (up from $24.0B a year ago)
• Free cash flow: $12.4B (after Q1 capex of $19.8B)

Meta's Family of Apps — Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger — reaches 3.56 billion daily active users and accounts for 99.3% of revenue. Reality Labs (Quest headsets, Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses) contributes the remaining 0.7%.

Meta Superintelligence Labs and Muse Spark

The strategic headline this quarter was the launch of Meta Superintelligence Labs and its first model, Muse Spark. Zuckerberg positioned this as the starting point for his mission to deliver personalized superintelligence at scale.

"We are working to deliver personal superintelligence to billions of people. Muse Spark is the beginning of that journey."

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO

What's Driving the $145B Capex: Memory, Data Centers, Custom Silicon

Meta cited three drivers for the guidance increase: higher memory pricing, additional data center capacity for future years, and investment in proprietary AI chips to reduce NVIDIA dependence. Meta is rolling out more than 1GW of custom silicon developed with Broadcom (AVGO), alongside AMD chips, as part of its strategy to control AI infrastructure costs and reduce supply chain concentration.

On the cost side, Meta announced it will cut roughly 8,000 employees in May and pull back 6,000 open roles — redirecting headcount spend toward AI infrastructure. Gross margin at 81.9% and operating margin at 41.2% remain near five-year highs, providing the financial headroom to absorb these investments.

Why the Stock Fell 7% on Great Earnings

A 61% net income increase should not send a stock down 7%. But the math tells the story. At the midpoint of $135 billion, Meta's 2026 capex is roughly equal to its estimated annual operating cash flow. That means the company is spending its entire earnings engine on AI, funded by debt or reserves. Free cash flow at $12.4 billion in Q1 alone looks strong — but scale that capex guidance against full-year cash generation and the margin of safety narrows fast.

The market's real question is whether Zuckerberg's superintelligence bet pays off before investors lose patience. The ad business is genuinely healthy. The concern is where all that cash is going — and whether the returns will arrive before the capital does.