Meta plans to spend up to $145 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, roughly double its $72.2 billion outlay in 2025, as it expands computing infrastructure, data centers and cloud capacity for artificial intelligence. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said AI will account for a significant portion of the spending and described 2026 as pivotal to Meta’s effort to build what he calls a superintelligence. Meta also expects total expenses to reach as much as $169 billion, reflecting infrastructure costs, higher component prices, compensation and recruitment of AI talent. The planned capital spending would exceed the 2025 military budgets of every country except the United States, China and Russia, according to figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Meta’s spending is part of a broader hyperscaler investment surge: a Reuters report estimated Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft could spend about $730 billion on AI in 2026, while an earlier Goldman Sachs estimate cited by Apollo projected roughly $800 billion in total capital expenditures. The investment has helped drive about one-fifth of US economic growth so far in 2026, but it has also increased pressure on cash flow and debt financing. The four companies are expected to issue $250 billion in global investment-grade debt by the end of 2026, while Wall Street consensus estimates compiled by Apollo project their operating cash flow to rise from $600 billion in 2025 to roughly $2 trillion in 2030. Analysts warn that weaker-than-expected cash generation could weaken AI-linked trading, widen credit spreads, reduce capital-expenditure plans and slow US growth, particularly as 2027 approaches.