Meta plans to issue a new class of non-voting shares to finance AI investment
In its third-quarter earnings report, Meta announced it will issue a class of non-voting shares to support AI initiatives, potential acquisitions, and employee compensation, with transactions beginning in 2027. The company expects capital expenditure this year to be between $135 billion and $145 billion, higher than its previous forecast of $130 billion to $145 billion. CFO Susan Li said the new shares will expand financing tools and provide investment flexibility for the business momentum brought by AI.
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Against the backdrop of AI investment driving up capital expenditure, Meta has created a new class of non-voting shares, allowing readers to observe changes in big tech's financing tools.
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Meta says it’s issuing a new class of shares to fund its AI initiatives. As part of its third-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday , the company says the non-voting stock will also go toward potential acquisitions and employee compensation, with trading beginning in 2027.
“The scale of investment required to compete, sustain growth, expand infrastructure, and pursue new strategic initiatives amidst the AI transformation taking place in the industry is significant,” Meta says in the press release. Susan Li, Meta’s chief financial officer, added during an earnings call that the new class of shares will “expand our funding tools and give us flexibility to invest behind the unprecedented momentum we’re seeing across every part of our business driven by AI.”
Meta has poured billions of dollars into the AI race as it builds ( and promotes ) sprawling data centers, poaches top talent from other companies like OpenAI, and builds AI models capable of rivaling those from other tech giants. The company expects capital expenditures between $135 billion and $145 billion this year, up from the previous $130 billion and $145 billion estimate.
It’s been a busy past few weeks for Meta, which launched its AI agent, Muse , in September. Like other AI agents, Muse can do things like clean out your email inbox, book restaurant reservations, and plan trips. The Muse app shot to the top of app stores shortly after its rollout, and hit 10 million downloads in the US this week. Meta also rolled out its Muse Wonder model this week .