Meta projects $125 billion to $145 billion in 2026 AI spending while Reality Labs losses average $4 billion per quarter

Meta lost $4 billion on Reality Labs in its latest quarterly earnings report. Over the last 21 quarterly reports dating back to 2021, Reality Labs has lost a total of $83.5 billion, averaging about $4 billion per quarter.

Meta projects it will spend between $125 billion and $145 billion on infrastructure capex in 2026, exceeding previous analyst projections and Meta's own prior estimates. Meta CFO Susan Li stated the company has 'continued to underestimate our compute needs' and is not providing a specific outlook for 2027 capex.

In the first quarter of this year, Meta posted net income of $26.8 billion (up 61% year-over-year) and revenue of $56.3 billion (up 33% year-over-year). The company recently shipped its overhauled AI model Muse Spark, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg reported 'large increases' in Meta AI use since that release.