What happened
On July 2, Bank of America analyst Justin Post maintained a "Buy" rating on Meta Platforms stock with a price objective of $835, citing the company's potential to build a cloud services or AI infrastructure business as a new revenue stream.
Why it matters
Bank of America projects Meta will spend ~$850 billion（約140兆円） on capital expenditures between 2026 and 2030, which could enable the company to build ~19 gigawatts of computing power at ~$45 billion（約7.2兆円） per gigawatt—positioning Meta to potentially compete in cloud infrastructure, a high-stakes market where Amazon and Google took years to achieve profitability.
What to watch
Despite the bullish view, the analyst acknowledged that building a cloud business carries significant risks; without clear cost or technological advantages, such a business could operate at lower profit margins, and success is not assured given the time required for competitors to turn their cloud divisions profitable.
Summaries like this, in your inbox every morning.
Bank of America's July 2 buy rating reflects confidence in Meta's capital intensity and long-term infrastructure play. The firm's analysis hinges on a specific math: if Meta's planned $850 billion（約140兆円） spend between 2026 and 2030 translates into ~19 gigawatts of AI capacity at ~$45 billion（約7.2兆円） per gigawatt, the company could establish meaningful competitive footprint in cloud infrastructure—a market dominated by Amazon and Google but one that Meta may be positioned to enter as a differentiated player. The analyst frames this as a potential new revenue stream, moving beyond Meta's core advertising business.
However, the Bank of America commentary also surfaces a material caveat: cloud business success is not guaranteed, and history shows that even the largest technology companies required years to achieve profitability in this segment. Without clear cost or technological advantages, margins could compress, making the venture less accretive than a pure-play capital allocation. The firm remains optimistic despite these risks, suggesting it believes Meta's scale, engineering talent, and AI infrastructure investments may provide an edge that others lacked at similar stages.
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