Meta posted 28% revenue growth last quarter, but its costs and expenses climbed 55%, sharpening investor debate over whether the company's AI push can deliver returns that justify its rapidly expanding cost base. Steve Eisman said the imbalance was "astonishing" and argued "We want the reverse," while pointing to a surge in research and development spending, rising depreciation from AI infrastructure and a sharp drop in free cash flow. Meta's second-quarter 10-Q showed research and development expenses rose 67% to $21.66 billion, while server and network depreciation increased to $4.62 billion from $3.12 billion a year earlier. The company spent $31.08 billion in quarterly capital expenditures (money used for long-term assets), expects $130 billion to $145 billion for the full year, and had free cash flow of $784 million versus $8.55 billion a year earlier. Meta also issued $25 billion of senior unsecured debt (borrowings without pledged collateral) in May, lifting long-term debt to $83.66 billion at the end of June. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says "AI is accelerating our core business today," citing 27% advertising revenue growth, 14% growth in ad impressions and a 12% rise in average price per ad. Strategas founder Jason Trennert said hyperscalers (big cloud and internet infrastructure companies) are likely to keep spending because AI demand still exceeds supply, but he questioned whether they will produce an "appropriate return" for shareholders and said semiconductor suppliers such as Nvidia may be the cleaner trade. A Polymarket prediction market with roughly $2.9 million in volume currently assigns a 12% chance that the AI bubble bursts by the end of 2026.