Mark Zuckerberg Says He's Betting Big on AI Compute Even as Meta's Free Cash Flow Craters. Here's What Investors Should Watch.

Meta is aggressively investing $130-145 billion in AI infrastructure despite an 18% year-over-year decline in free cash flow. However, strong ad revenue growth (27% YoY), rising ad prices (12% increase), and increased user engagement suggest AI investments are already strengthening the core business. The key question for investors is whether these positive trends continue as capital spending remains elevated, with potential upside if Meta can monetize excess compute capacity to third parties.