Meta falls more than 5% on report of possible AI stock sale

Meta shares fell more than 5% Friday after the Financial Times reported the company is considering a stock offering that could raise tens of billions of dollars to help fund its artificial intelligence buildout. The report said Meta has not hired banks and may never move ahead with a sale. A company spokesperson pushed back, calling the report speculation, while repeating that Meta is looking for flexible ways to fund its AI plans. Meta raised its 2026 capital spending outlook in April to as much as $145 billion, up from a prior top end of $135 billion, as it pours money into AI infrastructure. The move lands as investors scrutinize heavy spending across Big Tech, especially after Alphabet moved to raise $85 billion from equity sales.