Meta stock falls 5% as capex outlook climbs to $145 billion

Meta stock falls 5% as capex outlook climbs to $145 billion Meta reported $60.8 billion in second quarter revenue, up 28% from a year earlier, but shares fell 5% as the company raised the lower end of its 2026 capex outlook. Share Add us on Google by Estefano Gomez Jul.

29, 2026 Meta shares fell about 5% in initial after hours trading Wednesday after the company reported lower quarterly profit and raised the lower end of its capital spending outlook. The stock had already closed the regular session down around 1% before extending its decline following the release. Meta reported second quarter revenue of $60.

8 billion, up 28% from $47.5 billion a year earlier and slightly above Wall Street expectations of around $60.2 billion.

However, diluted earnings fell 13% to $6.18 per share, below analysts’ expectations of about $7.19.

Net income declined 14% to $15.8 billion, while income from operations fell 8% to $18.8 billion.

The decline came as Meta’s total costs and expenses jumped 55% to $42 billion. The figure included $2.4 billion in charges related to legal proceedings and $1.

18 billion in severance expenses connected to the company’s May workforce reduction. Advertisement Meta’s operating margin dropped to 31% from 43% during the same quarter last year, reflecting the growing cost of its artificial intelligence infrastructure and other investments. Capital expenditures reached $31.

08 billion during the quarter, almost double the $17.01 billion spent during the same period last year. Meta narrowed its full year capex forecast to between $130 billion and $145 billion, compared with its previous range of $125 billion to $145 billion.

The higher spending also weighed heavily on cash generation. Meta produced $31.9 billion in operating cash flow but reported only $784 million in free cash flow, down from $8.

55 billion a year earlier. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said AI was already accelerating the company’s core advertising business while supporting the development of new products and enterprise opportunities. The company’s advertising business continued to show strong growth.

Ad impressions across Meta’s family of applications increased 14% from a year earlier, while the average price per advertisement rose 12%. Family daily active people reached an average of 3.60 billion in June, representing growth of 3% from the previous year.

Meta’s Family of Apps division generated $60.37 billion in revenue and $23.39 billion in operating income.

Reality Labs reported $431 million in revenue and an operating loss of $4.62 billion. The company expects third quarter revenue of between $61 billion and $64 billion.

The midpoint of the forecast is slightly below analysts’ expectations of around $63.1 billion. Meta also raised its full year expense forecast to between $165 billion and $169 billion to account for the legal charges recorded during the second quarter.

Despite the increase in spending, Meta maintained its expectation that full year operating income will exceed its 2025 result. Investors have become increasingly focused on whether major technology companies can produce sufficient returns from hundreds of billions of dollars being directed toward AI chips, data centers, power infrastructure, and frontier model development. Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez.

For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy. NEWS Meta stock falls 5% as capex outlook climbs to $145 billion Meta reported $60.8 billion in second quarter revenue, up 28% from a year earlier, but shares fell 5% as the company raised the lower end of its 2026 capex outlook.

by Estefano Gomez Jul. 29, 2026 Share Add us on Google Meta shares fell about 5% in initial after hours trading Wednesday after the company reported lower quarterly profit and raised the lower end of its capital spending outlook. The stock had already closed the regular session down around 1% before extending its decline following the release.

Meta reported second quarter revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% from $47.5 billion a year earlier and slightly above Wall Street expectations of around $60.

2 billion. However, diluted earnings fell 13% to $6.18 per share, below analysts’ expectations of about $7.

19. Net income declined 14% to $15.8 billion, while income from operations fell 8% to $18.

8 billion. The decline came as Meta’s total costs and expenses jumped 55% to $42 billion. The figure included $2.

4 billion in charges related to legal proceedings and $1.18 billion in severance expenses connected to the company’s May workforce reduction. Advertisement Meta’s operating margin dropped to 31% from 43% during the same quarter last year, reflecting the growing cost of its artificial intelligence infrastructure and other investments.

Capital expenditures reached $31.08 billion during the quarter, almost double the $17.01 billion spent during the same period last year.

Meta narrowed its full year capex forecast to between $130 billion