Zuckerberg's Fortune Drops $18 Billion As Wall Street Sours On Meta's AI Spending

Meta shares fell sharply after investors turned wary of the company’s aggressive AI spending plans and weaker-than-expected quarterly profit. The stock dropped 9% on Thursday, extending an 11-session slide and putting it down 21.7% over the period, which erased $17.8 billion from Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth. Meta raised its full-year spending outlook to $137.5 billion and declined to provide a 2027 forecast, intensifying concerns about capital discipline and near-term returns on AI investments. Although revenue beat estimates at $60.8 billion, earnings per share of $6.18 missed consensus by a wide margin. Analysts at Scotiabank and Wedbush cut price targets, and multiple other firms reduced their estimates as well. The article also contrasts Meta’s pressure with Microsoft’s strong AI-driven results, which boosted its shares and supported a more positive view of data-center spending returns.