Meta plans to issue a new class of non-voting shares to help fund its AI initiatives. The company announced the plan Wednesday in its third-quarter earnings report. It said the shares could also support potential acquisitions and employee compensation.
Meta tied the plan to the cost of its broader strategy. “The scale of investment required to compete, sustain growth, expand infrastructure, and pursue new strategic initiatives amidst the AI transformation taking place in the industry is significant,” the company said in a press release.
On an earnings call, chief financial officer Susan Li said the shares will “expand our funding tools and give us flexibility to invest behind the unprecedented momentum we’re seeing across every part of our business driven by AI.”
Meta raised its spending forecast
Meta now expects capital expenditures of $135 billion to $145 billion this year. Its previous forecast was $130 billion to $145 billion. The company has spent billions on AI as it builds and promotes large data centers, recruits talent from companies including OpenAI, and develops models intended to compete with those of other tech companies.
Meta launched its AI agent, Muse, in September. The agent can clean out email inboxes, book restaurant reservations and plan trips. Its app rose to the top of app stores soon after launch and reached 10 million downloads in the US this week. Meta also released its Muse Wonder model this week.
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The rollout has brought privacy concerns. A tech YouTuber reported that Muse gave his address to a stranger on Facebook Marketplace. Meta also paused Muse’s conversation-sharing feature after researchers found chats publicly accessible on the web.
The proposed shares would give Meta another way to fund its AI work alongside potential acquisitions and employee compensation. Trading in the new class is set to begin in 2027.
