META stock declines after CEO acknowledges AI development delays despite $145 billion 2026 capex commitment.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) shares have fallen 12% year to date after CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees on July 2, 2026, that AI agent development “hasn’t really accelerated” as planned. The admission followed an 8,000-employee layoff targeting non-AI divisions while protecting AI infrastructure teams.
The company has pledged $125 billion to $145 billion in 2026 capital expenditures, more than double its $72.215 billion 2025 outlay. Meta also signed a $21 billion AI infrastructure deal with CoreWeave through 2032, alongside a 6-gigawatt AMD GPU partnership.
Employee morale has dropped sharply, with median total compensation falling nearly $30,000 and internal ratings declining 25%. Zuckerberg expects meaningful benefits from the reorganization within three to six months.