Superintelligence Plots

Meta’s capital expenditures, including finance-lease principal, reached $34.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026, about 4.9 times the $7.1 billion it spent in the first quarter of 2023, while quarterly free cash flow fell from $12.4 billion in the first quarter of 2026 to negative $2.1 billion, its first negative quarter in this series. In other words, Meta’s AI data-center buildout now costs more than all the cash its operations generate, even though third-quarter revenue rose 26% year over year to $64.6 billion. That context matters for the SI News report that Meta raised the floor of its 2026 capex outlook to $135 billion and approved a new share class to help fund the expansion.

Sources & Notes

• Original story: Anthropic Launches Proactive Claude Duet Agent | Meta Raises AI Capex as Muse Passes 10M | Chinese AI Tool Traced in Japan Hacking Spree
• Data sources: Meta Platforms, Inc (2026). Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2026). Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2026). Meta Reports First Quarter 2026 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2026). Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2025). Meta Reports Third Quarter 2025 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2025). Meta Reports Second Quarter 2025 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2025). Meta Reports First Quarter 2025 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2025). Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2024). Meta Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2024). Meta Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2024). Meta Reports First Quarter 2024 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2024). Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results; Initiates Quarterly Dividend; Meta Platforms, Inc (2023). Meta Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2023). Meta Reports Second Quarter 2023 Results; Meta Platforms, Inc (2023). Meta Reports First Quarter 2023 Results
• Notes: Quarterly figures for Q1 2023 through Q3 2026 in nominal USD billions, rounded to one decimal, as reported in Meta’s earnings press releases (accessed 2026-10-23); points are plotted at each quarter’s end date. Capital expenditures include principal payments on finance leases. Free cash flow is Meta’s non-GAAP measure: cash from operating activities minus purchases of property and equipment and principal payments on finance leases. Meta’s outlook for full-year 2026 capital expenditures is $135-145 billion.