Meta Forecasts Up to $145 Billion AI Data Center Spending

Meta Platforms Inc. forecasts capital expenditures for AI data centers between $125 billion and $145 billion in 2026. This spending level nearly equals the company's projected 2026 EBITDA of $145 billion. To mitigate the risk of overbuilt capacity, the company launched the Meta Compute initiative to lease excess compute resources to external customers.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg defended the strategy during a first-quarter earnings call, stating that the company builds products and experiences before scaling and monetizing them. He declined to provide a specific return on invested capital timeline for the next 12 to 24 months.

Recent capital expenditure plans were increased by approximately $10 billion due to DRAM inflation. Wedgewood Partners noted in its Q2 2026 investor letter that a strategic sourcing arrangement established with Advanced Micro Devices in February 2026 serves as an economic hedge. The investment firm estimates Meta's warrants in AMD are worth nearly $90 billion, which is roughly nine times the cost of the incremental DRAM inflation, thereby bolstering long-term returns.