Meta's AI 2026 CapEx Can Pay For 90 NFL Stadiums, 10 James Webb Telescopes And Rivals New York's Budget As Zuckerberg Bets Big On 'Superintelligence'

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is doubling down on AI with its most ambitious capital spending plan to date, outlining record infrastructure investments for fiscal 2026.

Zuckerberg Bets Big On ‘Superintelligence’

During the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, the company’s CFO, Susan Li, said that she anticipates 2026 capital expenditures “to be in the range of $115 to $135 billion,” with much of it aimed at supporting “Meta Superintelligence Labs efforts.”

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined his vision for “personal superintelligence,” saying that the company will “continue to invest very significantly in infrastructure to train leading models.”

To put this in perspective, $135 billion is enough to pay for over 90 NFL stadiums, assuming an average cost of $1.5 billion per stadium.

It can also help put 10 more of NASA’s James Webb Telescopes into space, and is just enough to run the entire state of New York, home to 20 million people, for a year.

Zuckerberg, however, remains confident in his bold bet, saying, “This is going to be a big year for delivering personal superintelligence, accelerating our business, building infrastructure for the future, and shaping how our company will work going forward.”

Others Aren’t Far Behind

While Meta currently leads the way on AI capex, other big tech giants aren’t far behind, with BofA Securities analyst Vivek Arya projecting $528 billion in capital expenditures by the industry in 2026.

Arya also predicted that this figure could climb to $1.2 trillion by 2030 if the current capex intensity holds, with the leading hyperscalers continuing to dominate.

Meta Shares Soar Despite Rising AI Expenses

Meta Platforms released its fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, reporting $59.89 billion in revenue, up 24% year-over-year, and beating consensus estimates of $58.30 billion. The company posted a profit of $8.88 per share, which was again ahead of analyst estimates at $8.16.

The stock was down 0.63% on Wednesday, closing at $668.73, and is up 7.43% overnight, following the company’s fourth-quarter results.

Shares of Meta Platforms score poorly on Momentum and Value in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, but have a favorable price trend in the short and long terms.

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