Meta lifted the floor of its 2026 capex range to $135 billion. The $349 billion of commitments under it is not in the 8-K.

Every figure below was read from Meta's own filings on sec.gov, and from CoreWeave's and Nebius's filings where they name Meta, and is cited with its accession. Outlook figures are Meta's own, furnished on Form 8-K, and are labelled as company guidance. We show no analyst estimates, no consensus and no share prices, because none of them is filed, and nothing from the earnings call, which is not a filing either. Sums, differences and implied fourth-quarter figures are our arithmetic on filed values and are marked (Ours.) Research, not investment advice.

In July, Meta $META narrowed its 2026 capital-expenditure range to $130–145 billion. Yesterday it narrowed it again. The third-quarter results, furnished on Form 8-K on 21 October (accession 0001628280-26-066700), put the range at "$135-145 billion, narrowed from our prior outlook of $130-145 billion". The floor moved up $5 billion; the ceiling did not move.

That range is the number most readers will take from the release. The bigger number sits under it, and the 8-K does not carry it: $349.31 billion of non-cancelable commitments, "mostly" third-party cloud capacity and infrastructure, as of 30 June. That figure comes from the second-quarter 10-Q (0001628280-26-050705). The third-quarter update waits for the next 10-Q.

On Wednesday our CoreWeave post put Meta on the demand side of CoreWeave's debt. Here is what Meta's own October filing adds, line by line, and what it leaves for the 10-Q. We checked EDGAR at 04:30 UTC on 22 October; the 8-K and a preliminary information statement on Schedule 14C were the only Meta filings since the 10-Q apart from insider and ownership forms.

1. The range: $135–145 billion, "including principal payments on finance leases"

The full sentence, from the CFO outlook in Exhibit 99.1: "We anticipate 2026 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, to be in the range of $135-145 billion, narrowed from our prior outlook of $130-145 billion."

2026 capex outlook	Filing	Range
Before July	July 8-K, as the "prior outlook"	$125–145 billion
29 July	8-K `0001628280-26-050596`	$130–145 billion
21 October	8-K `0001628280-26-066700`	$135–145 billion

The definition matters. Meta's capex includes principal payments on finance leases, so the range covers equipment it leases as well as equipment it buys. The release defines free cash flow the same way, "regardless of whether we procure such property or equipment with a finance lease".

2. Nine months spent, and what the range leaves for the fourth quarter

Third-quarter capital expenditures "were $34.91 billion", against $31.08 billion in the second quarter (0001628280-26-050596). The cash-flow statement gives the parts: purchases of property and equipment of $33,942 million and principal payments on finance leases of $964 million.

Capex incl. finance-lease principal ($m)	Purchases of PP&E	Finance-lease principal	Total
First half (`0001628280-26-050705`)	49,113	1,805	50,918
Third quarter (`0001628280-26-066700`)	33,942	964	34,906
Nine months	83,055	2,769	85,824

(Ours: $135,000 million less $85,824 million leaves $49,176 million for the fourth quarter at the bottom of the range; $145,000 million leaves $59,176 million at the top. That is 41% to 70% more than the third quarter's $34,906 million.) The 10-Q's first-half figure of $50.92 billion matches the table's first row.

3. Free cash flow: negative $2.12 billion

"Cash flow from operating activities was $32.79 billion, and free cash flow was negative $2.12 billion." The reconciliation table: operating cash flow of $32,786 million, less $33,942 million and $964 million, gives $(2,120) million. In the second quarter the same measure was $784 million; in the third quarter of 2025 it was $10,625 million. For nine months it is $11,049 million, against $29,508 million a year earlier.

So in the third quarter, capex as Meta defines it was larger than the cash the business generated. (Ours: $34,906 million against $32,786 million, a gap of $2,120 million.) Our July read-back followed the same line one quarter earlier.

4. Where the cash went: no buybacks, less cash, and an escrow

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $82.45 billion at 30 September, against $90.26 billion at 30 June (0001628280-26-050596). (Ours: down $7.81 billion in the quarter.)

Repurchases of Class A common stock were nil in the third quarter and nil for nine months, against $3,327 million and $26,248 million in the same periods of 2025. Dividend and dividend-equivalent payments were $1,361 million. Taxes paid on the net share settlement of employee awards were $4,064 million. No debt was issued in the quarter; the nine-month line of $24,910 million is the May notes.

Long-term debt was $80,922 million at 30 September, against $83,664 million at 30 June. The 8-K does not explain the $2,742 million difference (Ours); the 10-Q debt note will.

One balance-sheet line ties straight to the commitments. Restricted cash included in other assets was $12,535 million at 30 September, against $13,107 million at 30 June. The second-quarter 10-Q explains what most of it is: "$10.80 billion of money market funds related to escrow requirements under certain multi-year infrastructure purchase agreements", "expected to be released between 2028 and 2030 upon satisfying the underlying purchase obligations".

5. The commitments under the capex line: waiting for the 10-Q

From the second-quarter 10-Q (0001628280-26-050705), all as of 30 June:

Line	Amount	Detail
Non-cancelable contractual commitments	$349.31 billion	"mostly relate to third-party cloud capacity arrangements and investments in servers and network infrastructure, data centers, and consumer hardware products in Reality Labs"
Of which due in 2026	about $53.52 billion
Of which due in 2027	about $81.65 billion
Contingent cloud capacity	up to $14.72 billion	"over a five-year period, which may be reduced" if the cloud service provider places the capacity with other customers
Leases not yet commenced	about $278.99 billion	starting "during the remainder of 2026 through 2036"
Leases signed in July	about $68 billion	"expected to commence in 2027 and 2028, with lease terms of 18 to 20 years"

None of these lines appears in the October 8-K. We searched Exhibit 99.1: "commitment" appears only as the empty "Commitments and contingencies" caption on the balance sheet, and "lease" only in the finance-lease wording of capex and free cash flow. The 10-Q also notes that for "agreements with variable terms, we do not estimate the total obligation beyond minimum quantities and/or pricing". The commitment figure is a floor by its own definition.

6. CoreWeave and Nebius: named on their side, not on Meta's

Two of Meta's suppliers have filed their Meta contracts.

CoreWeave, 8-K of 9 April (0001769628-26-000154): "Meta has initially committed to pay the Company approximately $21 billion", for capacity "through December 20, 2032".
Nebius, 6-K of 16 March (0001104659-26-027886): "$12 billion of dedicated capacity" over five years from early 2027, plus a commitment to purchase additional capacity "up to a total of $15 billion over a five-year period". The release gives "a contract value of up to approximately $27 billion". Nebius "currently intends" to place this capacity with third-party customers of its AI cloud, "with remaining capacity to be purchased by Meta".

Meta's 10-Q and 8-K name neither company. We searched both. So the $21 billion and the $27 billion are, by the suppliers' own filings, contracts with Meta; whether and how they sit inside the $349.31 billion or the $14.72 billion, Meta has not said, and we do not match them. Neither supplier has filed a later update on its Meta contract: CoreWeave's latest 8-K is of 22 September, Nebius's latest 6-K of 1 October.

7. Any sentence about 2027

There is no 2027 capex number. There are four 2027 sentences:

"we are still developing our budget and capacity plans for next year, but we expect to continue investing aggressively to support both our core business and emerging AI initiatives."
"Our current capacity and what is scheduled to come online gives us the flexibility to allocate resources across model training, core business growth, and the development and support of new products."
"we are not providing a full-year 2027 revenue outlook".
Reality Labs losses are expected "to narrow next year to around $15 billion".

The release does not size the capacity "scheduled to come online". The 10-Q lines that describe signed capacity not yet started are the $278.99 billion of leases commencing from the rest of 2026, the $68 billion signed in July for 2027 and 2028, and the $81.65 billion of commitments due in 2027. The 8-K gives no update to any of them.

8. A new share class "for capital raising"

The same 8-K carries Item 1.01: the board approved a new class of non-voting Class C common stock and declared a one-time dividend of one Class C share for each Class A and Class B share, with the restated charter effective 19 January 2027. Shareholders approved it by written consent on 20 October.

The release gives the special committee's reasons. The first is headed "Creating a New Class of Shares for Capital Raising, Employee Compensation, Potential Acquisitions, and Other General Corporate Purposes", and reads: "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." The committee "determined this new class of common stock will provide Meta the ability to finance its growth".

The release adds that "The stock dividend will not change the voting power of any shareholder." The Founder Alignment Agreement (Exhibit 10.1) sets terms for Mark Zuckerberg's sales of Class C shares: 20% of his dividend shares are "freely saleable" and 80% are subject to a stapling condition, released at 2.5% a quarter while he remains in a full-time leadership role. The 8-K also says that after the dividend, "in the event the Company ... determines to repurchase shares of Class A common stock", it will use "best efforts" to repurchase at least as many Class C shares.

No Class C share has been issued, and no offering is filed. What is filed is the stated purpose: financing the infrastructure in lines 1 to 7.

9. The income statement around the capex

Q3 2026 ($m)	Guide (July, `0001628280-26-050596`)	Result (`0001628280-26-066700`)
Revenue	$61–64 billion	64,601
Costs and expenses		51,613
Income from operations		12,988

(Ours: revenue is $0.60 billion above the top of the range.) Revenue rose 26% "on both a reported and constant currency basis". Ad impressions rose 10% and the average price per ad 14%.

Costs include "a $9.89 billion charge" for the agreement with 52 state attorneys general, which "provides for payments of up to approximately $18.59 billion". Excluding it, income from operations "would have increased by $9.89 billion to $22.88 billion". The full-year expense outlook moved to $175–179 billion from $165–169 billion. (Ours: nine-month costs of $127,077 million leave $47.9–51.9 billion for the fourth quarter, against $51.6 billion in the third.) The fourth-quarter revenue guide is $73–76 billion.

Reality Labs lost $4,129 million in the quarter. The 2026 outlook is now "a range of $18-19 billion". (Ours: the nine-month loss of $12,775 million leaves $5.2–6.2 billion for the fourth quarter.)

Headcount was 66,775 at 30 September, "a decrease of 15% year-over-year", against 75,472 at 30 June. The July release said about 8,000 employees affected by the May reduction would leave the count by the end of the third quarter.

10. Depreciation is catching up

Depreciation and amortization was $7,154 million in the quarter, against $4,963 million a year earlier. (Ours: up 44%.) Property and equipment, net, was $253,222 million at 30 September, against $176,400 million at 31 December. (Ours: up $76,822 million in nine months.)

What the 10-Q has to answer

The non-cancelable commitments at 30 September, and the amounts due in 2026 and 2027.
Whether the $14.72 billion contingent cloud-capacity line moved.
Leases not yet commenced, and whether any were signed after the July $68 billion.
The escrow: how much of the $12,535 million is still tied to infrastructure purchase agreements.
Why long-term debt fell $2,742 million (Ours) with no repayment line in the cash-flow statement.
Where the attorneys-general accrual sits, and the payment schedule for "up to approximately $18.59 billion".

Run it yourself

/filings/META lists the 8-K, the 10-Qs and the information statement. /financials/META holds the standardised statements with the cash-flow history, and /earnings/META carries the filed quarterly series. /valuation/META lets you run your own valuation on filed numbers.

Then write down the lines you will hold Meta to: $135–145 billion for 2026, $49.2–59.2 billion left for the fourth quarter (Ours), $349.31 billion of commitments, $14.72 billion contingent. Our Thesis Monitor reads each new filing against what you wrote and tells you which of them moved. If you work inside an agent, the same filings are on the EvidInvest MCP server. It is free to start, credit packs from $10, and there is no subscription.

The capex range is in the release. The commitments under it arrive with the 10-Q.

Sources. Meta Platforms Form 8-K of 21 October 2026, Exhibit 99.1 (Q3 2026 results and outlook) and Exhibit 10.1 (Founder Alignment Agreement): accession 0001628280-26-066700 (sec.gov). Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026: 0001628280-26-050705 (sec.gov). Form 8-K of 29 July 2026, Exhibit 99.1: 0001628280-26-050596 (sec.gov). CoreWeave, Inc. Form 8-K of 9 April 2026: 0001769628-26-000154 (sec.gov). Nebius Group N.V. Form 6-K of 16 March 2026, Exhibit 99.1: 0001104659-26-027886 (sec.gov). EDGAR was checked at 04:30 UTC on 22 October 2026. No analyst estimate, consensus figure, share price, price target or call remark appears on this page. Sums, differences and implied fourth-quarter figures are arithmetic on those filed values, labelled as ours where they appear. Research, not investment advice.