Mark Zuckerberg backs Meta’s multi-billion dollar AI spending spree

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Mark Zuckerberg isn’t backing off the AI spending spree. On Meta’s third-quarter earnings call, the CEO defended the company’s aggressive investments — including a $14.3 billion stake in Scale AI — saying it’s “better to invest too much than too little.” The message was clear: Meta’s future hinges on computing power, no matter the short-term hit.

Meta’s latest earnings call made one thing clear — Mark Zuckerberg is betting the company’s future on artificial intelligence, even as investors show signs of unease. The tech giant spent $14.3 billion this year on Scale AI to bolster its rebranded Superintelligence Labs, part of a wider plan to dominate the next wave of AI development.

To power those ambitions, Meta is expanding data centres and signing major cloud deals with Oracle, Google, and CoreWeave. Zuckerberg admitted the company will likely need even more computing capacity than anticipated, calling the heavy spending the right move.

“Being able to make a significantly larger investment here is very likely to be a profitable thing over, over some period,” Zuckerberg said on the call.

Meta has raised its capital expenditure forecast to between $70 billion and $72 billion — up from $66 billion previously — joining rivals Microsoft and Alphabet in signalling bigger bets on AI infrastructure. Alphabet boosted its own capex to as high as $93 billion, while Microsoft expects accelerated spending into 2026.

Despite a 26% jump in quarterly revenue to $51.24 billion, Meta’s shares fell 8% after the call. Alphabet’s stock, meanwhile, rose 6% as investors rewarded its steadier AI strategy.

Zuckerberg downplayed overbuilding risks, suggesting any excess capacity could eventually support Meta’s ad and recommendation systems or even be leased to third parties. “We’re seeing the returns in our core business,” he said, “and we want to make sure we’re not under investing.”