Meta to issue new non-voting share class to fund AI push, trading starts in 2027

Meta announces a new share class to bankroll AI

Meta plans to set up a new class of shares to help pay for its artificial intelligence initiatives. The company disclosed the move as part of its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, and according to The Verge, the stock will carry no voting rights, will begin trading in 2027, and can also be used for possible acquisitions and employee compensation.

The company's stated reasoning

Meta framed the decision as a response to the sheer cost of staying competitive while the industry reorganizes itself around AI. In its press release, the company said the level of investment required to compete, sustain growth, expand infrastructure and pursue new strategic initiatives during this transformation is significant. On the earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said the new class will "expand our funding tools and give us flexibility to invest behind the unprecedented momentum we're seeing across every part of our business driven by AI," as reported by The Verge.

A rising capital budget

The financing tool arrives as Meta's spending on AI keeps climbing. The Verge notes the company has committed billions of dollars to the AI race, constructing and promoting large data center campuses, recruiting prominent researchers away from competitors such as OpenAI, and training models intended to stand up to those of other major technology firms. For this year, Meta now expects capital expenditures of $135 billion to $145 billion, nudging up the low end of its previous $130 billion to $145 billion forecast.

The backdrop: Muse and its growing pains

The earnings report follows a busy stretch of AI activity at Meta. In September the company released Muse, an AI agent that, according to The Verge, can handle tasks such as clearing out an email inbox, booking restaurant tables and planning trips. The app climbed to the top of app store rankings after launch and reached 10 million downloads in the United States this week — the same week Meta introduced its Muse Wonder model.

The rollout has not been entirely smooth. The Verge reports that a tech YouTuber said the agent disclosed his address to a stranger during a Facebook Marketplace interaction, and Meta paused Muse's conversation-sharing feature after researchers discovered that chats were accessible publicly on the web.

Why it matters

A company of Meta's size creating an entirely new share class is a rare corporate finance step, and it underscores just how expensive the AI buildout has become. With annual capital spending heading toward roughly $145 billion, Meta is adding another instrument alongside its cash flow to keep the investment going — one that could also bankroll acquisitions. Because the new shares carry no votes, issuing them would leave existing shareholders' voting power untouched, allowing Meta to raise large amounts of capital without diluting anyone's say in how the company is run. For the broader industry, it is one more sign that the race to build AI infrastructure is reshaping not only products, but also how the largest technology companies fund themselves.