Meta Platforms (META) launched about $35 billion of stock sales on Monday, October 26, to pay for its AI build, and shares swung between a 1% gain and a 4% loss before the open. The number sounds like a war chest. Set against Meta’s own spending plan, it covers about two-thirds of a single quarter.
That’s why a second raise came attached. Meta also plans to sell up to $60 billion of new non-voting Class C shares from the first quarter of 2027, which would take the total to $95 billion.
What Meta Is Selling
The offering filing breaks the plan down:
- $22.5 billion of Class A stock through forward sales with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Meta collects the cash on dates it picks, up to November 19, 2027 (underwriters can add $3.375 billion).
- $12.5 billion of mandatory convertible preferred that turns into common stock around August 15, 2029. The dividend rate and conversion terms get set at pricing.
- Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom indicated interest in up to $5 billion of the common, so Meta’s chip suppliers may help fund Meta’s chip orders. The interest isn’t binding.
- The $60 billion program has no agreement yet, and its size, timing and terms are undetermined.
The $35 Billion Covers One Quarter
Meta spent $33.94 billion on property and equipment in the third quarter, up 80% from $18.83 billion a year earlier and more than the $32.79 billion its operations brought in. Free cash flow, by Meta’s own count, was negative $2.12 billion.
Meta still guides for $135 billion to $145 billion of 2026 capital spending, including lease payments. About $86 billion went out through September, which leaves roughly $49 billion to $59 billion for the fourth quarter alone. Meta ended September with about $82 billion of cash against about $84 billion of debt, so the equity fills a hole that has already opened.
Meta’s Buybacks Had Already Stopped
Meta’s diluted share count fell from 2.96 billion in 2017 to 2.57 billion in 2025, about 13% fewer, with most of the drop coming after 2021.
That shrinkage ended this year without an announcement. Meta repurchased no stock in the first nine months of 2026, against $26.2 billion in the same stretch of 2025, and diluted shares were 2,573 million in the third quarter, flat from 2,572 million a year earlier.
Monday’s raise turns flat into rising. At about $637 a share, the $22.5 billion of common works out to roughly 35 million shares, about 1.4% of the company. Add the $60 billion program and the common-stock plan reaches $82.5 billion, about 5% of the company at that price, before the preferred converts in 2029.
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How Much Meta Stock Has Priced In
The market moved first. Meta stock trades at 19.5 times normalized forward earnings, below its five-year average of 21.3 times.
The discount holds up once the third quarter’s noise comes out. Revenue grew 26%, but diluted EPS excluding a $9.89 billion legal charge was $7.40, up about 2% from $7.25 a year earlier, which excluded a $15.93 billion tax charge. Per-share earnings stalled before any new shares exist. Alphabet (GOOGL) went first with an upsized $84.75 billion equity raise in June, according to Reuters, so investors had months to price this in.
Conclusion
The raise is the bill for a capex plan that outgrew Meta’s ad business this year, and the multiple slipping below its average says shareholders started paying it before Monday. I’d call 19.5 times fair rather than cheap until the cash flow turns. Fourth-quarter spending settles it. If it lands near $59 billion and operating cash flow falls short again, Meta draws on $82 billion of cash that already sits below its debt, and the $60 billion program looks like the plan, not a backstop. A $35 billion sale that covers two-thirds of a quarter is a bridge, and Meta hasn’t said where it ends.
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