Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated at the company's annual shareholder meeting on May 27 that entering the cloud computing market is "absolutely under consideration" if Meta builds excess data center capacity. Responding to questions about potential competition with Microsoft and Amazon in cloud services, Zuckerberg indicated the company receives weekly approaches from external firms seeking to purchase computing power above Meta's procurement costs. The statement comes as Meta maintains massive infrastructure spending comparable to cloud computing giants while remaining the only US hyperscale technology company not offering external cloud services, positioning the potential move as a strategic option tied to capacity utilization rather than an immediate business pivot.
External Demand for Meta's Computing Resources
Zuckerberg disclosed that "almost every week, different external companies approach us hoping we can build API services, or asking if we have computing power to sell, and are willing to purchase this computing power at a premium above our procurement costs." He emphasized the company possesses the capability to lease portions of its computing resources externally: "We haven't done this yet because we believe this computing power still has internal uses. Of course, if we find excess capacity in the future, external leasing will be a direction we can choose, and this to some extent strengthens our confidence in continuing investment in construction."
Meta AI Subscription Service Launch
On the same day as the shareholder meeting, Meta officially launched subscription services for its AI chatbot Meta AI, marking the company's first attempt at true AI subscription feature monetization. Users can choose between $7.99 or $19.99 monthly subscription packages depending on different functionality tiers. The paid plan will pilot first in Singapore, Guatemala, and Bolivia. At the shareholder meeting, Zuckerberg discussed the company's plans for AI-powered personal assistants, stating: "In the future, the importance of people will not decrease, but will become more important. As people inevitably want to gain more value from these agents, the company will have opportunities to charge for premium or high-computing-power versions." While Meta already provides some AI-related features for businesses on WhatsApp, these services are currently free. Zuckerberg stated the company is exploring "longer-term commercialization models."
Stock Performance and Capital Expenditure Guidance
Meta stock (Nasdaq: META) rose 3.74% on May 27 to close at $635.26 per share, with total market capitalization of $1.61 trillion. At an October 2023 earnings call, Zuckerberg had mentioned that if Meta ultimately experiences excess computing capacity, the company could provide portions externally to third parties, though he emphasized this was not yet a realistic issue but rather a "backup plan." In late April, Meta disclosed its latest earnings and raised its 2026 capital expenditure expectations to between $125 billion and $145 billion, up from the previous forecast range of $115 billion to $135 billion. The company stated this reflects expectations for component price increases this year and increased data center costs to support capacity in coming years. Zuckerberg stated at the time he was "fully confident" in the decision to further increase AI investment. The spending plan unsettled Wall Street, causing the company's stock to drop over 7% after the earnings release.
Industry Positioning Among Cloud Giants
Among the four major US technology giants with hyperscale cloud infrastructure, Meta is currently the only company not offering external cloud infrastructure and cloud services. Simultaneously, Meta's spending scale to drive AI development is comparable to competitors Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.
