Meta Platforms disappointed investors on Wednesday with forecasts of higher expenses and weaker-than-expected revenues, raising fears of AI costs outpacing its benefits.
While Meta’s first-quarter earnings have significantly exceeded market expectations, shares of the social media giant have dropped approximately 15% in after-hours trading due to higher-than-expected expenses on AI and lighter-than-expected sales revenue guidance for the current quarter.
The company raised its forecast for expenses this year to support investments in support of new AI products and the computing infrastructure needed to support them and added that expected spending would likely increase this year.
While Meta currently stands as one of the best performers among American tech companies on Wall Street this year, this decline has the potential to knock off around $200 billion off its stock value. This has raised concerns on whether the ongoing performance of Meta can justify its 39% year-to-date rally, and whether AI is truly worth it.
Mark Zuckerberg attempted to justify this increased spending by asserting that the length of the AI investment cycle is 2 years, and that it can only be monetized after that. However, such patience does not align well with the competitive and volatile nature of the market today, and Meta earnings indicate that there is little evidence of AI paying off for now.
Despite this potential setback, Meta’s shares are still expected to post a year-to-date gain of 20% after the drop. However, Meta’s intention to continue their ever-increasing spending spree in the field of AI raises questions on whether the company has reached yet another apex of growth, and extends to other tech firms as well. Moreover, their forecasts have renewed the great AI debate, revealing artificial intelligence to be both an expensive tool and a dangerous gamble.
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