Meta plans to sell up to $95 billion in new stock to pay for AI

Meta plans to sell up to $95 billion in new stock to pay for its AI infrastructure buildout. The Information reported the figure. Meta's own announcement lays out part of the plan. For anyone who owns Meta shares, including through a retirement fund, new shares can water down each existing share's slice of the company.

How the money would be raised

The plan has three parts. About $22.5 billion would come from selling Class A common stock, the regular shares. Another $12.5 billion would come from depositary shares, each one-twentieth of a new preferred share. Unless converted earlier, those preferred shares turn into common stock in August 2029.

The last $60 billion would come from ongoing sales on the open market. Those would start once new Class C shares begin trading, likely no earlier than the first quarter of 2027.

Why a new share class matters

Meta now has Class A shares with one vote each and Class B shares with ten votes each. Entities controlled by CEO Mark Zuckerberg hold most of the Class B shares. The new Class C shares, announced last week, carry no voting rights. That lets Meta raise money without diluting Zuckerberg's control.

Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom have shown non-binding interest in buying up to $5 billion of Meta stock. Non-binding means they have not committed.

What is not known yet

The material does not say at what price the shares would sell or how much ownership would be diluted. It also does not say whether the chip companies will follow through.