Meta plans to create a new class of non-voting shares, with trading set to begin in 2027, to help pay for its AI work.
The company announced the plan with its third-quarter earnings report on Wednesday. Beyond AI initiatives, the shares are meant to fund potential acquisitions and employee compensation. In the press release, Meta said the "scale of investment required to compete, sustain growth, expand infrastructure, and pursue new strategic initiatives amidst the AI transformation taking place in the industry is significant." Susan Li, the chief financial officer, said on the earnings call that the new class would "expand our funding tools."
The "non-voting" label is the detail worth pausing on. Stock that carries no votes lets a company raise money or pay people in equity without giving buyers a say in shareholder decisions. That is the whole appeal, and it is also why such shares are a trade-off for the people who hold them.
The three uses are a mixed list. AI spending and acquisitions are the obvious ones. Employee pay is less glamorous, but in a market where AI talent is expensive, a second currency for compensation is a practical tool. Meta's own wording frames the move as a response to competition, which is the company's account of its motives rather than an independent finding.
The material available so far leaves out how many shares Meta intends to issue, at what price, and how the new class would be distributed. With trading not starting until 2027, those answers will decide whether this is a modest addition to the toolkit or a major source of capital for the company's AI spending.