Meta reported on October 21 revenue of $64.6 billion (+26%), but its $34.9 billion in capex exceeded operating cash flow and pushed free cash flow to -$2.1 billion, the first negative quarter since 2012. The stock fell about 7%, and the company announced non-voting Class C shares that the market reads as a financing route.
The Quarter's Numbers
According to the investingLive summary and FourWeekMBA's analysis, revenue rose 26% to $64.6 billion versus $63.3 billion expected. Capex for the quarter was $34.9 billion ($31.0 billion in Q2 and $19.4 billion a year earlier) against operating cash flow of about $32.8 billion, leaving free cash flow at roughly -$2.1 billion.
Future Commitments: Sources Don't Agree
InvestingLive cites a regulatory filing with about $825 billion in future commitments for data centers, energy and compute. An independent analysis of the 10-Q puts non-cancelable contracts at $454.5 billion, with roughly $121 billion payable in 2027. The two figures may reflect different definitions (leases not yet commenced versus non-cancelable contracts); we found no source that reconciles the gap, so check the 10-Q before citing either one.
The Class C Stock: How to Read It
Meta plans to create non-voting Class C shares, effective January 19, 2027 and distributed as a dividend, equivalent to a 2-for-1 split. The company says it gives it capacity to fund its growth; the market reads it as a possible source of dilution. It's an authorization of structure, not an announced issuance: don't confuse it with earlier reports about stock offerings that Meta called "pure speculation."
How This Works: Compute Is No Longer Paid for With Cash Alone
For years, hyperscalers funded GPUs and data centers out of operating cash flow. With capex exceeding that cash, financing shifts to debt, leases and equity. It's the same pattern seen at CoreWeave and in chip-leasing deals: demand for compute continues, but financing it is now the pressure point, and that affects the prices and availability customers see.
Sources: investingLive (October 22, 2026), FourWeekMBA, Crypto Briefing, Let's Data Science.