Meta is changing its share structure to pay for the AI race. With its third-quarter 2026 results on October 21, the company announced that its board has approved a new class of publicly listed, non-voting Class C common stock. The shares are meant to give Meta another way to raise capital, pay employees and fund potential acquisitions. In its release, Meta said the investment required to compete and expand infrastructure "amidst the AI transformation" in the industry is significant, and that the new class will help it finance that growth.
The mechanics resemble a stock split. Meta plans to amend its certificate of incorporation in Delaware with an effective date of January 19, 2027, then pay a one-time dividend of one Class C share for every Class A and Class B share outstanding. The record and payment dates will be set later. Meta expects the Class A price to adjust as if a two-for-one split had taken place, and it says no shareholder's voting power will change. A special committee of independent directors recommended the move, shareholders approved the charter change by written consent, and Meta signed a Founder Alignment Agreement with Mark Zuckerberg covering his sales of the new shares and his continued service. Meta intends to list Class C on Nasdaq.
The quarter shows why funding is on the agenda. Revenue rose 26% to $64.60 billion, but costs climbed 68%, partly because of a $9.89 billion charge tied to a settlement with state attorneys general over teen mental health litigation. Operating income fell 37% to $12.99 billion. Capital expenditures reached $34.91 billion in the quarter and free cash flow was negative $2.12 billion. Meta narrowed its 2026 capital spending forecast to $135 billion to $145 billion and said it expects to keep investing aggressively in AI next year.
Muse, the AI agent Meta launched in September, was a centerpiece of the call. According to TechCrunch, Zuckerberg said Muse has more than 10 million users and that about a quarter of people who set it up now use it daily. Shopping is among the most popular uses, and he said more than a quarter of engaged users shopping through Muse had an average purchase above $200; email and calendar tasks are also common. He said Muse is expensive to run today but that Meta expects to make it more than ten times more cost-efficient within a year, and that the plan is to keep it free for most users while taking a share of commerce and charging power users.
Zuckerberg's statement in the release cited the launch of Muse and Muse Wonder, which Meta calls its first frontier model, as major milestones. The Verge notes that Muse's rollout has also brought problems, including a pause of its conversation-sharing feature after researchers found shared chats exposed on the web.
The share class is a notable tool for an AI spender of Meta's size. Non-voting stock lets the company issue equity for deals or compensation without diluting Zuckerberg's control, a point the special committee framed as preserving the founder-led model. Investors will now watch how much Class C stock Meta actually issues, and whether Muse's usage turns into the revenue Zuckerberg is promising.
Several details remain open. Meta has not said how much capital it intends to raise with the new shares or when, and the Muse figures come from management remarks on the earnings call rather than audited disclosures. More information is due in a Form 8-K and an information statement filed with the SEC.