New York, February 19, 2026, 17:15 EST — After-hours
Meta Platforms (META.O) shares edged up 0.3% to $644.78 in after-hours trading on Thursday, as investors weighed a fresh batch of AI infrastructure headlines and a report that the Facebook owner has revived a smartwatch project.
The move matters less for the size of the tick and more for what it says about the spending cycle. Meta sits in the middle of two fights in the market: who can keep buying compute, and who can still turn it into cash.
Big tech’s AI buildout has become a daily read-through for everything from chip makers to energy prices. Traders are looking for proof that the money going into data centers is not just keeping servers busy, but lifting revenue fast enough to defend margins.
Nvidia said this week it struck a multi-year, multi-generational partnership with Meta that spans on-premises, cloud and AI infrastructure. Nvidia’s statement said Meta will build hyperscale data centers for both AI “training” (building models) and “inference” (running them to serve users) and deploy millions of Nvidia Blackwell and Rubin GPUs, along with Grace CPUs and Spectrum‑X Ethernet networking. (NVIDIA Newsroom)
Meta, in a separate statement, said the tie-up is aimed at improving “performance per watt” — essentially how much computing work it gets for each unit of power burned. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said “no one deploys AI at Meta’s scale,” while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company aims to build “leading-edge clusters” using Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform. (About Facebook)
A Reuters report on the deal said Nvidia did not disclose the contract’s value and that it includes central processors that compete with products from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. The report also said Meta is developing its own AI chips and has held discussions with Google about using its Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs — custom chips built for AI workloads. (Reuters)
Meta’s hardware push is not just about racks of GPUs. The Information reported on Wednesday that Meta plans to release its first smartwatch later this year, reviving the “Malibu 2” project with health tracking and a built-in Meta AI assistant; Meta declined to comment to the publication, Reuters said. (Reuters)
A regulatory filing on Wednesday showed director Patrick Collison acquired 102 shares of Meta Class A stock through the settlement of restricted stock units, a type of equity award, and held 360 shares after the transaction. (SEC)
The broader tape has been jumpy. U.S. stocks ended modestly lower on Thursday, with the Nasdaq down 0.31% and the S&P 500 off 0.28%, as investors digested mixed economic data while U.S.-Iran tensions pushed crude higher; U.S. crude hit $66.43 a barrel and Brent reached $71.66, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
Meta has already told investors to expect a heavier bill. In late January, the company forecast a sharp jump in 2026 expenses, citing higher compensation and AI hiring as it ramps up investment for what it calls a “superintelligence” push, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
There is a downside case, and it does not need a recession to show up. Meta faces a steady grind of litigation and regulation, including a youth social media addiction trial in Los Angeles where Zuckerberg testified this week and jurors saw internal documents about a “tween” strategy, Reuters reported. A loss could mean damages and more copycat claims. (Reuters)
Meta has been moving with the AI complex. On Wednesday, Meta added 0.6% as Nvidia rose after disclosing the Meta deal, Reuters reported in its market wrap. (Reuters)
Next up: Nvidia reports quarterly results on February 25, with a conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, a date that has become a focal point for investors trying to gauge whether hyperscalers like Meta are still ordering at full speed. (NVIDIA Newsroom)
