Meta's stock jumped 10% after announcing Q3 revenue forecasts that were well above expectations at between $47.5bn and $50.5bn. The group is taking advantage of this to slightly raise its annual spending range, now estimated at between $66bn and $72bn, underscoring its massive commitment to the infrastructure needed to develop advanced artificial intelligence, which it calls superintelligence.
Meta is continuing its aggressive AI strategy, despite a mixed launch of its Llama 4 model. The company is waging a veritable war for talent, offering record salaries to rival researchers, while investing heavily in data centers, notably through a $14.3bn commitment to Scale AI, representing 49% of the company. Zuckerberg has said he wants to invest "hundreds of billions" to dominate the sector.
Zuckerberg's recruitment strategy has had two distinct effects. The first, obvious one has been to poach talent from his rivals and attract many bright minds to his new superintelligence division. The second is the effect of his exuberant offers, which have forced the competition to follow suit, resulting in additional expenses for them.
To finance this ambition, Meta is banking on its AI-powered advertising tools, such as Advantage+, which can transform images into videos. Instagram Reels is also emerging as a growth driver against TikTok, while the company is accelerating the monetization of WhatsApp and Threads. The appointment of Connor Hayes as head of Threads signals a desire to establish the platform as a standalone product.
