Meta shares closed down 7% Thursday even after the company beat Q3 estimates with record $64 billion revenue and $3.83 GAAP EPS.
The selloff centered on AI spending: Meta lifted the low end of 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $135 billion-$145 billion, adding to Wall Street doubts about long-term data-center returns.
Meta also disclosed $825 billion in spending commitments tied to cloud capacity, energy agreements and consumer hardware, extending concerns that had already pushed free cash flow negative.
Analysts stayed broadly bullish on Muse, Zuckerberg's AI agent push, while Meta announced new non-voting Class C shares that effectively create a 2-for-1 split and preserve his voting control if California's Proposition 40 passes.
The earnings reaction came after a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in a consumer-harms case, adding another overhang as investors reassess AI-heavy megacap spending.