Meta Platforms is significantly increasing its investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, encompassing data centers and servers, as revealed in its second-quarter earnings report. The company projects capital expenditures for 2025 to reach between $66 billion and $72 billion.
This projection represents an increase of approximately $30 billion year-over-year at the midpoint. Meta anticipates a similarly substantial surge in spending on AI infrastructure in 2026. This continuous investment aims to bolster the company’s capacity to meet the evolving demands of its artificial intelligence initiatives and broader business operations.
Susan Li, Meta CFO, emphasized the strategic importance of AI infrastructure during the company’s earnings call. She stated, “We expect that developing leading AI infrastructure will be a core advantage in developing the best AI models and product experiences, so we expect to ramp our investments significantly in 2026 to support that work.”
While Meta intends to primarily fund its AI endeavors independently, the company is exploring collaborative opportunities with financial partners for the co-development of data centers. Li mentioned, “We don’t have any finalized transactions to announce, but we generally believe that there will be models here that will attract significant external financing to support large-scale data center projects that are developed using our ability to build world-class infrastructure, while providing us with flexibility should our infrastructure requirements change over time.”
Meta has unveiled plans for two major AI “titan clusters.” Prometheus, located in Ohio, is projected to be among the first AI superclusters to achieve 1 gigawatt of compute power upon its anticipated launch in 2026. Additionally, Hyperion, situated in Louisiana, is envisioned by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to potentially scale up to 5 gigawatts over the coming years, encompassing a footprint comparable in size to Manhattan. Furthermore, Meta is actively developing several other titan-scale clusters, though specific details remain undisclosed.
These extensive data center projects are expected to consume substantial amounts of energy, potentially impacting nearby communities. One Meta project in Newton County, Georgia, has reportedly led to water shortages for some residents.
Meta’s earnings report also highlighted employee compensation as the second-largest driver of growth. The company is investing heavily to attract skilled AI engineers and researchers to its newly established Superintelligence Labs business unit.
Prior to the earnings announcement, Zuckerberg outlined his vision for “personal superintelligence,” emphasizing AI’s potential to enhance individual lives, particularly through Meta’s smart glasses and virtual reality headsets.
Following the release of the earnings report, Meta’s stock experienced a 10% surge in after-hours trading, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s overall performance and optimistic outlook for the third quarter. Meta reported revenue of $47.5 billion for the second quarter, and anticipates revenue between $47.5 billion and $50.5 billion in the third quarter. Advertising revenue, boosted by AI-powered tools, played a significant role in Meta’s financial gains. These tools facilitate AI-powered translations and video generation, enabling advertisers to create more effective and targeted campaigns.
Conversely, Meta’s Reality Labs segment reported a loss of $4.5 billion.
