Meta eyes up to $135b in AI spending in 2026

Meta plans to increase its AI-related spending significantly in 2026, with capital expenditures expected to reach between US$115 billion and US$135 billion, nearly doubling last year’s investment, according to its Q4 earnings report.

The company reported 24% year-on-year revenue growth driven by online ads, prompting positive investor reactions, with shares rising up to 10% in after-hours trading.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta will continue investing in infrastructure to develop advanced models and deliver personalized AI services globally.

Meta’s CFO, Susan Li, noted the company remains “capacity constrained,” emphasizing the need for more computing resources to enhance its core ad business and AI projects.

Zuckerberg indicated 2026 would be a key year for AI development, including the rollout of new products and models, such as the upcoming successor to Meta’s Llama models, named Avocado.

The company’s ongoing focus on building its own foundational AI models aims to shape future products and maintain technological independence.

🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The article’s capex figures omit the power behind the processors

Massive data center buildouts are being planned by Meta to address being “capacity constrained,” yet the long-term energy buying needed to run those sites is not fully spelled out 1.
The size of the requirement is captured in agreements described on Jan. 9 to line up up to 6.6 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear power capacity by 2035 through partnerships with Vistra, Oklo, and TerraPower, with Metas purchases under the Vistra agreements starting in late 2026 1.
The deal structure and financial exposure in these long-term power arrangements should be examined, since new advanced reactor contracts can place cost risk or schedule risk on Meta, which goes beyond reported capital expenditures 1.

Meta’s energy strategy signals a potential boom for parts of the nuclear supply chain

Metas multi-gigawatt nuclear agreements can give investors and industrial operators a clearer read on long-term demand for advanced nuclear, a sector that has struggled to land anchor customers, meaning large creditworthy buyers who commit to long-term purchases for new projects 1.
Specialized vendors could benefit, including groups working on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel production or metallization. HALEU is a higher-enriched nuclear fuel used by some next-generation reactor designs, including TerraPowers Natrium reactors. Oklo has also described HALEU supply plus fuel fabrication work tied to its Aurora development 1.
Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms, meaning contractors that design, buy materials for, and build large industrial projects, may also see more work. Kiewit is described as providing full-scope EPC services for Oklos Aurora-INL project plus follow-on deployments. Bechtel is described as leading EPC contracts at TerraPowers Kemmerer 1 Natrium project 1.