Meta's shares plunged more than 8% in after-hours trading after the company said it plans to invest between $130 billion and $145 billion on AI this year, unnerving investors already anxious about whether such enormous spending will pay off. The parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp also missed Wall Street's earnings-per-share forecast and guided towards softer-than-expected revenue for the current quarter, even as sales for the period beat expectations.

Revenue for the quarter to June rose 28% year-on-year to $60.8 billion, driven by AI-enhanced advertising, with ad impressions up 14% and average price per ad up 12%. Meta has been ramping up its AI push since hiring Alexandr Wang to lead its Superintelligence Labs unit, including a $14.3 billion stake in his firm Scale AI, and this week unveiled a $14 billion data-centre venture with BlackRock in Texas alongside new facilities in Louisiana and Alberta. The falls came as broader markets were rattled by Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh signalling openness to raising interest rates amid inflation pressures from rising oil prices linked to the US-Iran war, sending the Dow down over 1,000 points; Meta stock had already been down 10% for the year before the results.