---
id: "2026-07-29-meta-q2-2026-capex"
url: "https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-29-meta-q2-2026-capex/"
as_of: "2026-11-13T13:49:00+01:00"
date: "2026-07-29"
date_precision: day
category: business
importance: 3
confidence: high
status: [Confirmed]
sources: 3
editor: human editor
human_review: null
version: "2026-10-04"
---

As of: 2026-11-13 13:49 CET.
Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code), with a human editor. How we work: https://postcutoff.com/about/
Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-07-29-meta-q2-2026-capex/

# Meta Q2 2026 - capex guidance $130-145B, free cash flow collapses 91% on AI buildout

Meta's Q2 2026 results (2026-07-29) showed revenue up 28% to $60.8B but quarterly capex of $31.1B and free cash flow down 91% to $784M; Meta guided 2026 capex to $130-145B and raised total-expense guidance, sending shares down roughly 10% after hours.

## Key facts
- Q2 2026 revenue: $60.801B, +28% YoY (SEC 8-K exhibit 99.1)
- Q2 capex incl. finance-lease principal: $31.08B
- Full-year 2026 capex guidance: $130-145B
- Full-year 2026 total expenses guidance: $165-169B (raised)
- Q2 free cash flow: $784M vs $8.55B a year earlier (-91%, CNBC)
- Family Daily Active People: 3.60B (June 2026); headcount 75,472 (-1% YoY)
- Stock fell ~9.6% after hours (reported)

## What happened

Meta reported Q2 2026 revenue of $60.8B (+28%) but spent $31.1B on capex in the quarter - nearly all of its operating
cash flow - and guided full-year capex to $130-145B. Free cash flow fell to $784M from $8.55B a year earlier.

## Why it matters

It quantifies the scale of the hyperscaler AI buildout: a single company spending on the order of $130B+ in one year,
largely on AI data centers for MSL training and inference, and investors beginning to punish the cash-flow cost.

## Your AI and this story

- GPT-6 Astra (training cutoff April 2026): 90 days after its cutoff
- Claude Opus 5.5 (training cutoff June 2026): 29 days after its cutoff
- Gemini 4 Hydrogen (training cutoff March 2026): 120 days after its cutoff
- Grok 4.7 (training cutoff May 2026): 59 days after its cutoff

## Sources

1. [Meta Q2 2026 results - SEC Form 8-K exhibit 99.1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001326801/000162828026050596/meta-06302026xexhibit991.htm) (sec.gov, official)
2. [CNBC - Meta's stock drops on disappointing guidance, dwindling free cash flow](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/29/meta-q2-earnings-report-2026.html) (cnbc.com, press)
3. [Investing.com - Meta Q2 2026 slides](https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/meta-q2-2026-slides-revenue-surges-28-as-ai-spending-pressures-margins-93CH-4821943) (investing.com, press)

## Changes

- 2026-09-29 (filed): Created

## Related

- 2026-09-23: [Meta Connect 2026: VR Glasses, Ray-Ban Meta Gen 3, camera-free audio glasses and Muse everywhere](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-23-meta-connect-2026/index.md)
- 2026-04-08: [Meta Superintelligence Labs debuts Muse Spark, its first model](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-04-08-meta-muse-spark/index.md)