Meta Platforms said on Monday, October 26, 2026, that it will raise up to $95 billion by selling stock to fund its AI expansion — about $35 billion in offerings launched today, plus up to $60 billion more through a planned at-the-market program. Why it matters: one of the richest companies in tech is now asking shareholders to help pay for its data centers, a sign of how expensive the AI infrastructure race has become.
What Meta announced on Monday
Meta launched public offerings of about $35 billion in common stock and convertible preferred stock, according to Reuters. Separately, it plans an at-the-market share sale program of up to $60 billion, to begin after its new non-voting Class C shares start trading — expected in the first quarter of 2027. Together, the two pieces total up to $95 billion.
The AI supply chain is buying in, too: Meta said Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom have expressed interest in purchasing up to $5 billion of its Class A common stock in the offering — the same chip companies whose hardware fills Meta’s data centers.
Why Meta needs this much money
Meta last week lifted the lower end of its capital expenditure forecast for this year to between $135 billion and $145 billion, and Reuters reports it has committed to spend about $825 billion in the future, driven mainly by data centers, AI infrastructure and cloud computing power.
The balance sheet is feeling it. Meta held $82.45 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of September 30 — barely more than its $80.92 billion in long-term debt. In the third quarter it burned $2.12 billion in cash, its first negative free cash flow in over ten years, versus positive cash flow of $10.63 billion a year earlier. The business is still growing: third-quarter revenue was $64.60 billion, ahead of estimates of $63.37 billion, with fourth-quarter revenue projected at $73 billion to $76 billion.
Why it matters
This is the cost of staying in the AI race, made visible. Meta is competing with OpenAI and Anthropic on models while building the data centers to run them — and it has decided its advertising cash engine is not enough on its own, so shareholders will fund part of the buildout and be diluted to do it. When the chip suppliers are also lining up to buy the stock, the AI money loop gets tighter: Meta raises equity, spends it on chips and data centers, and the chipmakers recycle some gains back into Meta shares. Everything AI, tested — and increasingly, everything AI, financed.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Meta raising, and how?
Up to $95 billion: about $35 billion in stock offerings launched Monday, plus a planned at-the-market program of up to $60 billion once its Class C non-voting shares trade, expected in early 2027.
What will Meta spend it on?
AI-related expansion — data centers, cloud computing power and other infrastructure.
Why sell stock instead of using cash?
Spending is outrunning the cash cushion: $82.45 billion in cash and securities against $80.92 billion in long-term debt at September 30, and a $2.12 billion third-quarter cash burn — its first negative free cash flow in over a decade.
Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg Law