Stock Market Today, April 30: Meta Falls as Higher AI Capex Outlook Overshadows Strong Q1 Results

Meta Platforms (META 8.49%), a social media and virtual reality company, closed Thursday at $611.91, down 8.55%. Shares dropped after Q1 results paired strong revenue and EPS beats with sharply higher AI and infrastructure capex guidance, and investors are watching how rising spending and softer user trends affect future AI monetization.

The company’s trading volume reached 52.6 million shares, which is about 218% above compared with its three-month average of 16.2 million shares.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (^GSPC +1.02%) added 1.08% to finish at 7,209.1, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.89%) gained 0.89% to close at 24,892. Within social media and advertising, industry peers Alphabet (GOOGL +9.96%) closed at $381.4, up 9.97%, and Snap (SNAP +1.50%) ended at $6.07, rising 1.51%, highlighting mixed reactions across platform stocks.

What this means for investors

Meta Platforms shares declined despite first-quarter revenue and earnings exceeding expectations, as investors focused on the company’s increased 2026 capital spending plans for AI infrastructure and data centers. The higher capex outlook, potentially reaching $145 billion, shifted attention from the strong ad business to the costs of expanding capacity for future AI products.

Investors’ concern is not with Meta’s advertising performance, but whether increased spending on chips, servers, and data centers will improve the ad auction, recommendation systems, and Reels monetization quickly enough to protect margins and free cash flow. The next test will be whether Meta can demonstrate stronger ad pricing, engagement, or Reels monetization from its AI systems before higher infrastructure costs further impact profitability.