Coming off the back of Google's record $85 billion equity share sale this week, Meta is now considering raising tens of billions of dollars in the equity markets as it looks to expand its move into AIThe stock has moved from $610 to a new low of the day of $581.58. The price currently trades at $586.56 down $41 or -6.56%. Shares are down -11.04% in 2026 after rising by a modest 12.74% last year (relatively speaking. The NASDAQ rose by 20%).A few additional points:Meta generates enormous cash flow from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and advertising operations, so it is not relying solely on existing cash balances. The company is in the middle of a massive AI spending cycle, with 2026 capital expenditures projected at $125–145 billion. The Google deal is just one piece of that broader AI infrastructure buildout.As of their most recent quarter (Q1 2026, ending March 31), here's the breakdown:Cash & cash equivalents: $23.4 billionMarketable securities: $57.8 billionTotal cash + securities: $81.18 billion The "true" liquid war chest is that combined $81 billion figure, since the marketable securities (mostly short-term bonds and similar instruments) are nearly as accessible as cash.A few other notable numbers from Q1 2026: Meta generated $32.2 billion in operating cash flow and $12.4 billion in free cash flow in the quarter alone, and paid $1.35 billion in dividends. So they're producing cash very rapidly even while spending heavily — management now guides 2026 capital expenditures to $125–145 billion, mostly for AI infrastructure.Fingers crossed it works (this time)Remember the Metaverse?The this time refers to the head first dive into the metaverse pool (remember Meta used to be Facebook?). By all accounting, the metaverse has been a massive failure — but with some interesting wrinkles worth knowing.The spending: Reality Labs, Meta's division for VR and AR, recorded cumulative operating losses of about $83.6 billion from 2020 through 2025. Year by year: 2020 ($6.6B), 2021 ($10.2B), 2022 ($13.7B), 2023 ($16.1B), 2024 ($17.7B), and 2025 ($19.2B) — with losses growing every single year. In Q1 2026 alone, Reality Labs lost another $4 billion while bringing in just $402 million in revenue.The failure of the original vision: In October 2021 Zuckerberg renamed Facebook's parent company to Meta and declared the company would become "metaverse-first." Four and a half years later, Horizon Worlds — the flagship social VR platform at the center of that vision — is effectively over. Despite massive investment, Horizon Worlds struggled with low user engagement and technical issues, and the broader VR market remains niche, with global headset shipments declining in 2024. The pivot that's actually working: This is the nuance. The metaverse bet has quietly morphed into something different. Meta's smart glasses have been a surprise success, and the company seems increasingly focused on AI-powered wearables that blend digital experiences with the real world, rather than immersive VR accessed through bulky headsets. Ray-Ban Meta glasses have reportedly sold millions of units and are considered a genuine hit. The brutal summary: In 2025, Reality Labs generated $2.21 billion in revenue and lost $19.2 billion — but Meta's total 2025 revenue was $200.97 billion, which is why the company could survive this scale of loss without an existential crisis. Zuckerberg was essentially spending the profits from Instagram and Facebook ads to fund a moonshot that didn't land. The core metaverse vision — people living and socializing in virtual worlds through headsets — failed. What's salvageable is the AR glasses hardware, which is now being repositioned as an AI device rather than a metaverse portal.Let's hope his AI plans and massive spend will pay off.Looking at Meta stock price it is still off the lows for the year at $520, but tumbled back below the 200 and 100 hour MAs today at $618 and $613.88. The price is also below the lows of from May around the $594 level. Staying below the $600 level would keep the sellers more in control. Moving back above would still have traders needing to get above the 50% midpoint at $605.89 and the 100 and 200 hour moving averages near $618 and. Absent that and the sellers are still more in control.As Adam wrote earlier this week, all is fine when you use cash to fund your AI goals. When you tap the equity market, it ups the risk profile. Putting it another way, it is the opposite of buying back shares. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.