Jury selection has officially begun in a high-profile lawsuit against the world’s biggest social media companies. While TikTok and Snap have recently settled, Meta and Google’s YouTube are heading to court to defend their product designs against claims that they knowingly fuel a youth mental health crisis.

Even with this huge spending, Meta expects to make strong profits – around $50–55 billion in free cash flow in 2026.

Meta stock rose after Q4 earnings beat estimates, offsetting big capex spending. The company's call with analysts will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Two senior Democratic lawmakers, including Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), have pressed Meta and Google to end their digital advertising partnerships with the US Department of Homeland Security, alleging that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has used the companies’ platforms to run recruitment and “self-deportation” advertisements drawing on white nationalist imagery and rhetoric.

In Q4, the company is expected to spend $21.9 billion, up from $14.4 billion in the same quarter last year. Meta is expected to report earnings per share (EPS) of $8.16 on revenue of $58.4 billion, according to Bloomberg analyst consensus estimates. That would be an improvement on the $8.02 per share and $48.4 billion the company saw in Q4 2024.

Meta's stock pop following the company's latest earnings beat is a sign that investors are OK with hefty AI spending as long as the core business stays strong.

Some claims on social media suggest tech companies like Meta, Google and LinkedIn are using your personal data to train their AI tools. Our partners at PolitiFact looked into how they are actually using your data. Is your personal data on Instagram ...

Wall Street wants an answer now on the only question that has reliably moved the AI complex: Is the buildout still expanding — and at what price?