Meta's capital expenditures could increase by up to $9 billion this year, with the company suggesting that this could be the new norm due to its ambitious long-term AI research and product development efforts. Despite the potential costs, Meta's stock rose by 14.5% after the announcement of its first-ever cash dividend and strong results in its core advertising business. Zuckerberg's net worth also increased by $1.6 billion following Meta's stock performance.
Key takeaways:
- Mark Zuckerberg has outlined Meta's strategy to compete against Alphabet and Microsoft in the AI field, with a focus on 'general intelligence' AI and using the vast amount of data from its platforms as a resource.
- Meta's capital expenditures could increase by as much as $9 billion this year, totalling between $30 billion to $37 billion, as the company invests in AI research and product development.
- Zuckerberg has yet to detail how Meta user activity will be used as training data for Meta’s AI, and how the company will navigate potential issues around user privacy.
- Despite facing criticism in a U.S. Senate hearing, Zuckerberg's net worth rose by $1.6 billion on Thursday due to Meta’s strong stock performance.