Meta plans to create a new class of non-voting shares as it seeks more ways to finance its artificial intelligence ambitions. The company says the stock can also support potential acquisitions and employee compensation, and trading is set to begin in 2027.
More funding options for AI investment
Meta announced the share plan in its third-quarter earnings report, released on Wednesday. The company said the investment needed to compete, sustain growth, expand infrastructure and pursue strategic initiatives during the industry’s AI transformation is significant.
Chief financial officer Susan Li said on an earnings call that the shares would expand Meta’s funding tools and give it flexibility to invest in momentum across its business driven by AI. The new stock is non-voting, meaning the announcement describes it as a financing tool without voting rights.
The plan gives the company another way to fund a range of needs. Meta named AI initiatives, possible acquisitions and employee compensation as intended uses, while pointing to infrastructure expansion as part of the broader investment challenge.
A costly race to build AI capacity
Meta has spent billions of dollars on its AI efforts, including building data centers, recruiting talent from companies such as OpenAI and developing models intended to compete with those from other major technology companies.
The company expects capital expenditures of $135 billion to $145 billion this year. That range is higher at its lower end than the previous estimate of $130 billion to $145 billion, while the upper end remains the same.
These figures help explain why Meta is broadening its financing options. Building infrastructure and advancing AI requires substantial investment, and the company says it wants flexibility to pursue that work alongside growth and other strategic initiatives.
AI products bring opportunity and scrutiny
The financing announcement arrives as Meta expands its consumer-facing AI products. The company launched its AI agent, Muse, in September. The app can perform tasks such as cleaning out an email inbox, booking restaurant reservations and planning trips. It reached 10 million downloads in the US this week after quickly rising to the top of app stores following its rollout.
Meta also rolled out its Muse Wonder model this week. Those product launches sit alongside investment in data centers and AI models, illustrating the different parts of the company’s AI push that may require funding.
Muse’s rollout has also raised concerns. A tech YouTuber reported that the agent gave his address to a stranger on Facebook Marketplace. Meta paused Muse’s conversation-sharing feature after researchers found chats publicly available on the web.
What the share plan signals
Meta’s new class of stock is presented as a way to expand the company’s financing flexibility while its AI business and infrastructure needs grow. It is not limited to AI spending: the company also cited acquisitions and employee compensation.
Trading is expected to begin in 2027. Until then, Meta’s announcement frames the shares as one part of a larger plan to support investment during a period of significant change across the technology industry.