Meta Platforms Inc. shares surged as much as 10% in after-hours trading on January 28, 2026, following a blockbuster fourth-quarter earnings report that handed CEO Mark Zuckerberg the investor backing to unleash unprecedented spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company posted 24% year-over-year revenue growth to $59.89 billion, propelled by robust advertising demand, while projecting capital expenditures between $115 billion and $135 billion for 2026—nearly double the $72.2 billion spent in 2025. This escalation, primarily for AI data centers and computing power, signals Wall Street’s pivot from skepticism to endorsement, as Meta’s core ad business funds the frontier push.

“As we plan for the future, we will continue to invest very significantly in infrastructure to train leading models and deliver personal super intelligence to billions of people and businesses around the world,” Zuckerberg declared on the earnings call, framing 2026 as a pivotal year for AI acceleration. Chief Financial Officer Susan Li echoed the urgency, noting the firm remains “capacity constrained,” with compute demands outpacing supply despite 2025 ramp-ups. Total expenses are forecast at $162 billion to $169 billion, driven by infrastructure and talent hires amid a Silicon Valley AI arms race.

Ad Engine Fuels the Fire

Meta’s advertising dominance—98% of revenue—provided the cash cushion, with Q4 ads surging 24% as AI-enhanced targeting boosted efficiency. “Our world-class recommendation systems are already driving meaningful growth across our ads systems, but we think our current systems are primitive compared to what’s to come,” Zuckerberg told analysts, per The New York Times. This performance quelled prior fears of an AI spending bubble, with shares rebounding after underperforming in 2025.

Analysts like Jesse Cohen of Investing.com hailed 2026 as a “necessary transitional year” where ads generate cash flow for transformation, as reported by Reuters. Meta’s Q1 2026 revenue guidance of $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion further topped estimates, reinforcing confidence despite the capex spike.

Superintelligence Labs Takes Shape

Zuckerberg’s revamped AI division, Meta Superintelligence Labs, anchors the strategy. A $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI last year lured CEO Alexandr Wang to lead the unit, now testing the “Avocado” frontier model as Llama’s successor. “I expect our first models will be good but, more importantly, will show the rapid trajectory that we’re on,” Zuckerberg said, promising steady releases to “push the frontier,” according to CNBC.

The push extends to proprietary control: “Meta can’t risk being constrained to what others in the ecosystem are building,” Zuckerberg argued, positioning the company as a “deep technology” player. Recent hires like Safe Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Gross for capacity strategy and Dina Powell McCormick for government partnerships underscore the infrastructure war, with Meta eyeing tens of gigawatts in data centers this decade.

Meta Compute: The Power Play

In January 2026, Zuckerberg unveiled “Meta Compute,” a top-level initiative to secure massive energy for AI. “Meta is planning to build tens of gigawatts this decade, and hundreds of gigawatts or more over time,” he posted on Threads, as covered by Fortune. Deals like a $6 billion optical fiber contract with Corning and 6.6 GW power agreements by 2035 highlight the scale, outpacing rivals like ByteDance.

Capacity constraints persist into 2026, Li warned, with third-party cloud deals from Alphabet and CoreWeave supplementing in-house builds. X posts from investors like @mvcinvesting flagged bullish signals for infrastructure plays, noting potential Nebius contracts amid the GW-scale ambitions.

Rivals in the Rearview

Meta’s capex dwarfs peers: Alphabet eyes $91-93 billion for 2025 with more in 2026; Amazon $125 billion; Microsoft sequential hikes. Yet Meta’s ad cash flow—$54 billion LTM free cash flow—provides leverage, unlike cloud-dependent foes. “We’re seeing the returns in the core business that’s giving us a lot of confidence,” Zuckerberg insisted to CNBC.

Fortune reported Zuckerberg’s workforce AI tools to “elevate individual contributors,” flattening teams as one talented person matches big groups. Reality Labs losses peak in 2026, shifting to AI glasses like Ray-Ban Meta, with sales tripling in 2025.

Agents and Products on Horizon

“We’re starting to see agents really work. This will unlock the ability to build completely new products,” Zuckerberg said, per The Guardian. Merging LLMs with recommendation engines targets personalized AI, while pilots in Threads and Instagram Shopping hint at agentic revenue. No firm monetization timeline, but multiple 2026 rollouts are pledged.

X chatter from @thexcapitalist emphasized energy as AI’s bottleneck, with Zuckerberg securing power premiums. @ns123abc noted board member insights on OpenAI’s $1.4 trillion commitments failing to deter Meta.

Investor Verdict Solidifies

Truist analyst Youssef Squali affirmed Meta “continues to earn the right to invest” via top-line growth, via Stocktwits. Shares reclaimed key averages near $650, per FinancialContent. Long-term bulls see 20%+ earnings growth justifying 26x forward multiples, with PEG at 1.0.

Risks linger: If ad growth slips below 20%, capex scrutiny intensifies. Yet Q4’s beat and outlook suggest resilience. As Fortune put it, Zuckerberg predicts “major AI acceleration,” with Meta racing to catch Google and OpenAI after 2025 lags.

Frontier Push Accelerates

Meta’s $600 billion multi-year wave, per X analyst @aakashgupta, treats AI as resource extraction—nuclear deals, TSMC negotiations, sovereign financing. Gross’s commodities desk models 20-year risks, turning compute into a moat.

Zuckerberg eyes AI reshaping work: “2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work,” per BBC. With ad ROI proven, Wall Street grants the leash for superintelligence.