Meta Platforms Inc. shares declined 1.71% in early Monday trading on April 20, 2026, falling $11.76 to $676.79 as investors positioned themselves ahead of the company's first-quarter earnings report later this week and continued to digest the massive capital expenditure requirements tied to its aggressive artificial intelligence push.
The owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads has seen its stock experience periodic volatility in 2026 despite strong advertising revenue growth, largely because of concerns over soaring infrastructure costs and the timeline for returns on its heavy AI investments. Meta has guided for 2026 capital expenditures between $115 billion and $135 billion — a sharp increase from prior years — to fuel data center expansion, custom chips and its new Superintelligence Labs initiative.
