Meta raises capex to $145B for AI superintelligence, beats Q1 targets
In brief
- Meta Q1 revenue hit $56.31B, up 33% YoY, exceeding Wall Street consensus of $55.45B.
- Capex guidance raised to $125–$145B for 2026, doubling 2025's ~$72B spend.
- Zuckerberg frames 2026 as pivotal for personal superintelligence across Instagram, WhatsApp, and mixed reality.
- Stock fell 10% after-hours; Meta cut 8,000 employees (10% of workforce) in May.
Earnings and Guidance
Meta's Q1 revenue hit $56.31 billion, with earnings per share landing at $10.44. The company's capex guidance jump to $125–$145 billion signals an aggressive pivot toward AI infrastructure. That's roughly double the approximately $72 billion the company spent in 2025. Investors, however, were spooked. The stock dropped as much as 10% in after-hours trading.
The broader tech sector is moving in the same direction. The so-called Magnificent 7 tech giants are collectively projected to spend somewhere between $600 billion and $670 billion on hyperscaler AI infrastructure in 2026, putting Meta's $145 billion ceiling in context as a major but not isolated bet.
AI Strategy and Stablecoin Exploration
Zuckerberg described 2026 as pivotal for embedding deeply capable AI systems across Meta's product suite, from Instagram and WhatsApp to its mixed reality platforms. The superintelligence framing goes beyond chatbots; it's a bet that personal AI assistants will become central to how people interact with Meta's ecosystem.
Separately, reports have surfaced indicating that Meta is actively investigating stablecoin partnerships for payment processing across its app suite. This marks a return to blockchain ambitions after the company tried launching Libra (later renamed Diem), which regulators effectively killed in 2022. If stablecoins gain traction on Meta's platforms, the move could accelerate adoption in mainstream digital payments.
Workforce Cuts and Broader Context
Meta also laid off roughly 8,000 employees, about 10% of its workforce, in mid-May 2026. The cuts underscored the company's willingness to trade headcount for capital intensity — a shift that mirrors trends across hyperscaler AI infrastructure plays. Some Bitcoin mining operators have already pivoted to offering AI hosting services alongside their mining operations, suggesting the infrastructure race is reshaping multiple corners of the crypto and tech economy.
