Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), a $1.7 trillion company with 3.56 billion daily active users, forecasts it will spend $125 billion to $145 billion on AI data center capital expenditures in 2026 alone, with analysts expecting even bigger outlays in 2027. On its first-quarter earnings call, an analyst asked founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg what the return on invested capital would be over the coming 12 to 24 months from its AI-related spending spree; Zuckerberg replied, "That's a very technical question," explaining the company's philosophy rests on building products first, then scaling and monetizing afterward. Analysts' consensus view is that Meta will report $145 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in 2026, with its capex plans soaking up nearly all of that. Virtually all of Meta's revenue comes from ad sales, which saw sales soaring 33% year over year in the first quarter.