Meta shares fell roughly 6% Thursday after third-quarter results showed negative free cash flow of $2.12 billion, and the company now expects full-year capex of $135 billion to $145 billion. The spread on its five-year credit default swaps hit an all-time high, signaling growing investor credit concerns as Meta leans further into AI spending. Revenue rose 26% from a year earlier to $64.60 billion, above the $63.37 billion analysts expected, while EPS of $3.83 is unclear to compare with the $5.75 Wall Street was looking for. Meta also plans to create a nonvoting Class C stock to preserve its founder-led structure and help finance growth.
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Related tickers and likely impact
META
▼ Likely negativeMeta Platforms
Relevance: high
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Interactive Media & Services |
| Market cap | $1.9T |
| Close on 10/21/2026 | 698.43 |
| Change that session | +0.60% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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