Meta's stock sinks on report company could raise tens of billions of dollars to fund AI push

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is seen in the U.S. Capitol after a meeting in the office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Thursday, March 26, 2026. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Meta shares dropped more than 5% on Friday after the Financial Times reported that the company could potentially raise tens of billions of dollars in a stock offering to fund its artificial intelligence investments. The social media company is pondering the potential stock sale, the FT reported, after rival Alphabet said this week that it plans to raise $85 billion from selling equity, increasing that number from $80 billion. Alphabet has been on a tear over the past year, but the stock is down for a fourth straight week as investors worry about excessive AI spending. Meta hasn't hired banks and may not issue new stock, the FT noted. A Meta spokesperson called the report "pure speculation." "We've been clear that huge opportunities lie ahead in AI, and we'll continue focusing on raising capital in the most flexible ways to support that," the spokesperson said in an email. Like other tech giants, Meta and Alphabet are pouring record sums into capital expenditures as they race to build out AI infrastructure to meet what they see as insatiable demand. In April, Meta raised its 2026 capex guidance to as high as $145 billion from a previous forecast of up to $135 billion. …