One line from Meta's earnings call that ensured the stock will likely stay dead money

Meta (META) being coy astir aboriginal AI spending isn't what the marketplace wants to perceive arsenic overspending fears rattle tech stocks.

Yet that's what the marketplace got — and Meta received different net time banal plunge successful return. The determination is apt to support acheronian clouds implicit the banal done the summer. 

"We aren't providing a circumstantial outlook for 2027 capex astatine this time," Meta CFO Susan Li told analysts connected a late-Wednesday net call.

Meta did rise the bottommost extremity of its 2026 superior expenditure target, tightening the full-year spending scope to $135 cardinal to $145 cardinal (up from $125 cardinal to $145 billion).

But specifics astir 2027 superior expenditures were nonexistent. 

Li added, "Infrastructure readying remains highly dynamic. Even this year, determination are a scope of outcomes embedded successful our outlook."

Meta banal plunged 10% successful aboriginal trading connected Thursday. The driblet brings Meta's banal down adjacent to 30% twelvemonth to date.

All successful all, not the absorption Meta and billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg wanted.

The tech elephantine really delivered a top-line beat, pulling successful $60.8 cardinal successful gross versus the $60.2 cardinal analysts were looking for. But here's wherever the communicative got truly messy: Meta wholly whiffed connected the bottommost line, turning successful an EPS of $6.18 compared to the statement estimation of $7.14. 

The net miss was astir wholly driven by a $2.4 cardinal deed for ineligible contingencies alongside a $1.2 cardinal severance charge.

On the ineligible charges, Li said, "We proceed to spot scrutiny connected youth-related issues successful respective markets and person a fig of youth-related trials scheduled for this twelvemonth successful the U.S., which whitethorn yet effect successful a worldly loss."

Looking ahead, the 3rd 4th gross guidance of $61 cardinal to $64 cardinal came successful somewhat airy compared to the $63.1 cardinal Wall Street wanted.

"Meta alluded to medium-term capex maturation and issued 3Q guidance that was astir successful enactment with the Street, which feeds into AI carnivore concerns connected overbuilding and ROIC," KeyBanc expert Justin Patterson said successful a note.

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, big of the Power Players with Brian Sozzi podcast, and a subordinate of Yahoo Finance's editorial enactment team. Follow Sozzi connected X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips connected stories? Email [email protected].

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