Meta Equity Sale Speculation Persists, Shares Remain Down 11% YTD at $586

As of June 9, Meta Platforms remains under pressure from unconfirmed reports that it is weighing a multibillion-dollar stock sale to finance its AI infrastructure buildout, with management dismissing the original Financial Times story as 'pure speculation.' The report, which broke June 5, sent META shares down 6.6% to $586.30 — extending year-to-date losses to roughly 11% — as investors priced in dilution risk atop an already strained balance sheet. Meta raised its 2026 capex guidance to $125–$145 billion, up from $72 billion spent in 2025, while Q1 free cash flow of $12.4 billion trails quarterly capex of $20 billion. The company already carries $59 billion in long-term debt after a $25 billion senior notes offering in May, and has paused buybacks, amplifying shareholder concern that equity issuance may be unavoidable.