Meta raises $25 billion in bond sale after lifting AI spending plan
People walk behind a logo of Meta Platforms company, during a conference in Mumbai, India, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
April 30 : Meta Platforms sold investment-grade bonds worth $25 billion in six portions, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday, as the social media giant ramps up investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The news follows a $30 billion bond sale last year that was Meta's biggest ever. Like its Big Tech rivals, Meta is increasingly tapping debt to fund its AI ambitions after years of relying on strong cash flows to fund expansion into new technologies.
A day earlier, Meta had raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast by $10 billion to a range of $125 billion to $145 billion. Overall, Big Tech is now expected to spend more than $700 billion on AI infrastructure this year.
But the companies' growing appetite for debt has worried analysts and experts who have warned about a growing number of circular deals in the AI industry.
Bloomberg News first reported the capital-raising plans earlier on Thursday.
Rating agency S&P Global rated Meta's new debt investment-grade and maintained its stable outlook for the company’s ratings.
S&P analysts said they expect Meta's leverage will remain "well below" the downgrade threshold for at least two years, but its massive investment in AI was "starting to affect credit metrics."
To help fund its spending push, Meta has scaled back its money-losing metaverse business. Reuters was the first to report that Meta is planning to lay off 20 per cent or more of its workforce, with the first round of cuts, affecting half that number, set for May 20.
