breaking / AI

🚨 Meta Just Launched a $35 Billion Stock Sale to Pay for AI — and Lined Up $60 Billion More

Meta launched about $35bn in stock offerings on 26 October to fund AI, with a further $60bn share program planned from Q1 2027.

By Tech Arcade··2 min read

Meta Just Launched a $35 Billion Stock Sale to Pay for AI — and Lined Up $60 Billion More — Tech Arcade

Meta is selling about $35 billion of new stock to fund its AI build-out, it announced on Monday morning, October 26 (Meta via Stockhouse; Reuters via BNN Bloomberg).

And that’s only round one. Meta also plans an at-the-market share program of up to $60 billion starting in early 2027. Add it up and you get as much as $95 billion in fresh equity.

A company better known for buying back its own shares is now issuing them by the tens of billions.

⚡ What Happened

The $35 billion comes in two pieces (Meta via Stockhouse):

  • $22.5 billion of Class A common stock, sold through forward sale agreements with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Meta can settle these on dates it picks, up to November 19, 2027, so it doesn’t get that cash on day one.
  • About $12.5 billion of mandatory convertible preferred stock, sold as 250 million depositary shares that will trade on Nasdaq as “METAM”. They convert into stock on or about August 15, 2029. The dividend rate and conversion terms get set at pricing.

Underwriters can buy up to $3.375 billion more of the common stock and 37.5 million more depositary shares.

The plot twist: Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom, three of the companies selling Meta its AI chips, have indicated interest in buying up to $5 billion of the common stock between them. Those indications are non-binding, so they could buy less or nothing.

Then there’s the $60 billion at-the-market program. It will sell the new non-voting Class C shares Meta announced with its earnings last week, and it isn’t expected to start until those shares begin trading in Q1 2027.

🧠 Why It Matters

You don’t raise $95 billion for fun. Meta has about $825 billion in future spending commitments, mostly data centres, AI infrastructure and cloud computing, against $82.45 billion in cash and securities and $80.92 billion in long-term debt at the end of September (Reuters via BNN Bloomberg).

That’s a bill even Meta’s ad machine would struggle to cover from profits alone. Equity spreads the bill across shareholders, and through the Class C shares it does so without diluting Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control.

It’s also a U-turn. When the Financial Times reported back in June that Meta was weighing a big share sale, a Meta spokesperson called it “pure speculation” (Dow Jones via MarketScreener).

🔜 What To Watch

  • Pricing. The share price and the preferred dividend rate will show how hungry investors are for Meta’s AI story.
  • The chipmakers. If Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom do buy in, the money goes in a loop: from suppliers into Meta, then back out to them for chips.
  • Class C trading in Q1 2027, which unlocks the $60 billion program.

Pricing and final sizes aren’t confirmed yet; this story is still developing.

Sources

❓ Quick answers

How much stock is Meta selling?

Meta launched offerings of about $35 billion on October 26, 2026: $22.5 billion of Class A common stock and about $12.5 billion of mandatory convertible preferred stock, per its press release.

Why is Meta raising money by selling shares?

To fund AI infrastructure. Reuters reports Meta has about $825 billion in future spending commitments, mainly data centres, AI infrastructure and cloud computing.

Are Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom buying Meta stock?

They have indicated non-binding interest in buying up to $5 billion of Meta's Class A shares in aggregate, according to Meta's October 26, 2026 announcement.