Meta Platforms said on Monday it plans to raise up to $95bn (about R1.57-trillion) in equity to fund its costly AI-related expansion of data centres, cloud computing power and other infrastructure.
The company launched public offerings of about $35bn in common stock and convertible preferred stock. It also said it plans to launch a separate at-the-market share sale programme of up to $60bn after its new non-voting Class C shares begin trading, which is expected in the first quarter of 2027.
Meta has stepped up spending on data centres, computing capacity and AI products to compete with rival AI heavyweights OpenAI and Anthropic.
The social media company had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $82.45bn, slightly exceeding its long-term debt of $80.92bn as of September 30, according to its quarterly filing from last week.
The company has committed to spend about $825bn in the future, primarily driven by its growing investments in data centres, AI-related infrastructure and cloud computing power.
Meta said chip companies Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom have expressed interest in purchasing up to $5bn of Meta’s Class A common stock in the offering.
Last week, Meta raised the lower end of its annual spending forecast, now expecting capital expenditure to be between $135bn and $145bn this year, up from $130bn to $145bn expected previously.
Meta reported a $2.12bn cash burn in the third quarter, marking its first negative free cash flow in more than 10 years, compared with a positive cash flow of $10.63bn a year ago.
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $64.60bn, ahead of Wall Street estimates of $63.37bn. It also projected fourth-quarter revenue between $73bn and $76bn.
Reuters
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