How Meta Eased Wall Street’s Worries About AI Spending [Video]

Meta (META) shares jumped on Thursday as the company’s second-quarter results eased some of Wall Street’s fears about overspending on artificial intelligence. 

Meta on Wednesday reported capital expenditures (CapEx) increased 33% in the second quarter to $8.17 billion. It also raised the low end of its 2024 CapEx forecast to $37 billion from $35 billion. It left the upper band of its forecast range at $40 billion. 

The company joins a chorus of big tech companies saying they’ve dramatically increased their spending on AI infrastructure and expect to invest even more next year. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) increased CapEx by 91% and 55%, respectively, in the second quarter. 

But the market reacted very differently to each company’s CapEx outlook, a reflection of how quickly the narrative surrounding AI can change on Wall Street. 

Alphabet stock slumped last week as investors digested its surging AI spending and YouTube advertising revenuethat fell slightly short of …