Meta is moving a much larger share of its artificial-intelligence funding strategy into the equity market.
On Monday the company announced a financing plan that could ultimately reach about $95 billion. The important qualification is that Meta is not selling $95 billion of stock today.
| Financing piece | Approx. size | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Class A common stock via forward sale agreements | $22.5 billion | Concurrent underwritten offering launched |
| Series A mandatory convertible preferred depositary shares | $12.5 billion | Concurrent underwritten offering launched |
| Future Class C at-the-market program | $60 billion | Planned after Class C begins trading; no agreement has yet been entered into |
| Total potential plan | About $95 billion | Includes future, optional capacity |
Why the distinction matters
The roughly $35 billion of underwritten offerings is the immediate financing event. The additional $60 billion is intended to be an at-the-market program after Meta’s non-voting Class C shares begin trading, which the company expects in the first quarter of 2027. Meta explicitly says the timing, size and terms have not been determined and that there is no assurance the program will be established or fully used.
That makes “Meta raises $95 billion” too imprecise. A more accurate description is that Meta has launched about $35 billion of offerings and is creating capacity for as much as another $60 billion over time.
AI spending is changing Meta’s funding mix
Meta expects 2026 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, of $135 billion to $145 billion. The company says it plans to fund investment through operating cash flow, investment-grade debt, strategic partnerships and equity capital.
That equity component is notable because Meta remains highly cash-generative. It reported about $97 billion of operating cash flow for the first nine months of 2026 and approximately $82 billion of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at the end of the third quarter. Yet third-quarter free cash flow was negative $2.12 billion as capital expenditures accelerated.
Meta’s third-quarter results showed revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% from a year earlier, and quarterly capital expenditures including finance-lease principal of $34.91 billion.
The chip suppliers’ interest is strategically revealing
Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom have indicated interest in purchasing up to an aggregate $5 billion of the Class A common-stock offering. Those indications are non-binding, so the companies may buy more, less or nothing.
Still, the proposed participation highlights the circular-looking capital relationships developing around the AI buildout: chipmakers benefit when large customers can keep financing infrastructure, while those same customers are committing unprecedented sums to hardware and data-center capacity.
What to watch next
The immediate questions are the pricing of the common and preferred offerings, the eventual dividend and conversion terms on the mandatory convertibles, and how much of the planned Class C ATM capacity Meta actually uses in 2027.
More broadly, Meta’s financing plan gives investors a concrete way to test whether the AI capital cycle is shifting from an era dominated by internally funded spending toward one in which even the strongest hyperscalers deliberately diversify across debt, leases, strategic capital and equity.
Markets & News distinguishes company claims, official disclosures and our analysis. This article may be updated if primary-source terms change.