Meta Platform CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends a press conference held by US President Donald Trump with AI executives after a conference on artificial intelligence outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2026.
Finn Gomez | Getty Images
meta S&P Global Ratings has revised its outlook downward due to concerns over cash flow and AI spending.
The credit bureau said Friday that the outlook reflects “uncertainty” regarding Meta’s high capital expenditures and negative free cash flow.
According to S&P, Meta’s credit rating was revised from “AA stable” to “AA negative.” S&P’s highest credit rating is AAA. Anything below BBB falls into the junk bond category.
The agency questioned “Meta’s ability to monetize its AI investments” compared to other companies in the industry that are also spending heavily to expand their data centers, resulting in negative cash flow in the process.
Meta recently debuted its Muse AI agent app and related underlying models, but S&P said it is “uncertain when these revenue streams will generate a significant contribution beyond cost increases in the coming years.”
A Meta spokesperson insisted on this revision.
“We respectfully disagree with S&P’s assertions regarding Meta’s ability to monetize AI,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We believe there are significant product and business opportunities ahead of us that support our very strong credit profile.”
In its third-quarter earnings report released last week, Meta said it expects full-year capital spending to be in the range of $135 billion to $145 billion. Free cash flow was also negative by $2.12 billion, marking the first time the company was in the red.
Investors sent Meta stock down 7% on the report, despite the sales growth. Stocks fell 15% in October, the worst month in four years.
The company announced Monday that it plans to raise $95 billion to fund its AI efforts, first by raising $35 billion in an underwritten public stock offering and then another $60 billion through an on-market program.
S&P said it expects Meta’s capital spending growth to “become flat starting in 2028,” but said it is “uncertain whether Meta will reduce spending as previously expected.”
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