Meta Raises AI Spending, Faces $15.9B Tax Charge

On its Q3 earnings call Mark Zuckerberg unveiled an aggressive plan to build “personal superintelligence” via the newly centralized Meta Superintelligence Labs, a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, and a hiring spree for top AI researchers. Meta raised 2025 capital-expenditure guidance to $70–72 billion and said spending will increase further in 2026 as it front-loads compute by expanding data centers and signing cloud deals with Oracle, Google and CoreWeave. The company beat Q3 revenue and adjusted earnings expectations, but net income plunged after a one-time $15.93 billion tax charge and the stock fell roughly 6–9% amid investor concern over timing of returns. Meta said it will add large volumes of AI-generated content into its recommendation systems — citing the Vibes feed’s more than 20 billion images — and is rolling out AI features across Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and a Meta AI app. Zuckerberg defended heavy spending as preferable to underinvesting and said wearables like Ray‑Ban Meta, Oakley Meta and the new Meta Ray‑Ban Display could become highly profitable long-term as services and AI features drive revenue beyond device sales. Meta reiterated near-term revenue guidance of $56–59 billion and warned total expenses and employee compensation will rise as AI investment continues.