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Meta Raises Billions for AI and Now Faces the Question Every Investor Dreads

Meta shares rose after midday as investors weighed stronger ad growth against a bond sale, heavy AI spending, and a legal charge.

By Damilola Esebame, CFEI® , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Nov. 6, 2026

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Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) shares were at $618.12 in Friday afternoon trading, up $13.04, or +2.16%. The move offers one of those hidden signs of financial stability for long-term holders, as the stock opened at $608.19 after a $605.08 previous close and traded between $606.66 and $625.60 during the session.

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Friday rebound

The stock opened at $608.19 and moved higher from there, with the session range running from $606.66 to $625.60. A gain of $13.04 put META above its $605.08 previous close in afternoon trading.

Friday's move offered a counterpoint to the pressure that followed Meta's latest earnings report and AI spending update. Investors were focused on whether the company's ad growth can keep pace with its infrastructure bill.

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AI funding push

Earlier in the week, Meta sought to raise between $20 billion and $25 billion through a bond sale as it funded AI infrastructure, models, and services. The planned sale was expected to be split roughly two-thirds in U.S. dollars and one-third in euros.

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on Meta's AA- issuer credit rating to negative from stable, citing uncertainty around heavy capital spending and negative free operating cash flow. Free cash flow is the money left after a company covers operations and major investments. An outlook change is not a rating cut, but it signals that the rating could come under pressure if the concern persists.

Spending pressure

Meta's full-year 2026 capital expenditure outlook now stands at $135 billion to $145 billion. Capital expenditure is money spent on long-lived assets such as data centers, servers, and other infrastructure.

Third-quarter capital expenditure, including finance-lease principal payments, reached $34.91 billion. Operating cash flow was $32.79 billion, leaving free cash flow at negative $2.12 billion for the quarter. For Meta, the latest quarter showed that AI infrastructure spending absorbed more cash than the operating business generated.

Ad business grew

Meta's third-quarter revenue rose 26% to $64.60 billion. The advertising business remained the main profit engine behind that growth.

Ad impressions increased 10%, while average ad prices rose 14%. That combination showed Meta was serving more ads and charging more for them, helping offset rising infrastructure costs.

Legal charge hit earnings

Reported earnings were weighed down by a $9.89 billion charge related to a settlement with 52 state attorneys general over teen mental health claims. GAAP earnings per share were $3.83, below the $5.70 consensus estimate.

GAAP is the standard accounting framework U.S. companies use in their financial reports. Excluding the settlement charge, earnings per share would have been $7.40.

AI monetization is central

Pershing Square said in a third-quarter investor letter that Meta's AI-driven improvements in content recommendations and ad targeting lifted engagement and monetization across its apps. The firm also pointed to the launch of Muse and the Meta Enterprise Platform as signs of how Meta could monetize its compute investment beyond the core ad business.

The comments put the focus on whether Meta can turn its large app scale and AI infrastructure into new revenue streams while keeping its core advertising business growing.

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Bottom line

META was higher in Friday afternoon trading as the market weighed strong ad growth against rising AI spending, new debt financing, and free cash flow scrutiny. For anyone ready to start investing, the session underscored how quickly sentiment can shift when a tech giant's growth story collides with its spending plans.

The next focus is whether the company's infrastructure buildout can turn into measurable revenue gains while capital spending remains elevated.

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.

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