Meta Unveils Non-Voting Stock to Finance AI Infrastructure

Meta is accelerating its investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and has introduced a new financial instrument to fund these efforts. During its third-quarter earnings disclosure, the company confirmed plans to issue non-voting capital stock to raise necessary funds for its AI buildout.

Chief Financial Officer Susan Li announced that the company intends to create this new class of shares and distribute them to current shareholders through a stock dividend. Li stated, "created this new class of shares with the purpose of creating a publicly traded non-voting stock usable for capital raising, employee compensation, acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes while preserving the voting power of existing Class A and B shareholders."

The introduction of these shares is designed to maintain the company's current "founder-led structure," Li explained. By providing additional funding tools, the company aims to invest in the momentum it is observing across its business operations, which it attributes to AI development.

Meta's financial performance for the third quarter exceeded Wall Street expectations. Revenue reached $64 billion, representing a 26% increase compared to the previous year. However, the company's operating costs and expenses also saw a significant rise, increasing by 68% year-over-year.

The Reality Labs division, responsible for augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and related software, continues to report losses, though the company expects these figures to decrease. Forecasts indicate that losses for the division will range between $18 billion and $19 billion, down from 2025 levels.

The company has been actively releasing AI models, including Muse Spark and Muse Glimmer earlier this year, followed by Muse Wonder and Muse Spark Open. The latter is described as an open-weight model, allowing outsiders to utilize and build upon its underlying parameters. Additionally, Meta released a coding agent for software developers known as Muse Code.

During the Meta Connect event, the company presented a new line of avatars for its AI assistant, Meta Muse, intended to make the service more relatable. Regarding adoption, CEO Mark Zuckerberg reported that over 10 million users in the U.S. and Canada have set up Muse personal agents within a month and a half.

"Growth continues to be strong, and we have been number one in the App Store almost every day," Zuckerberg stated during the earnings call. He indicated that the company is now entering a new phase focused on scaling the product, with the expectation that it will eventually serve billions of people.

Despite these developments, the company acknowledged ongoing regulatory and legal issues. Li noted that active matters could impact business and financial results, citing scrutiny regarding youth-related issues in several markets and upcoming youth-related trials scheduled in the United States.