Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the company has committed roughly $600 billion over the next several years to build out AI infrastructure and support U.S. job creation. Kaplan said Meta’s ambition is to develop “personal superintelligence” through investments spanning custom data centers, proprietary AI chips and its open-source Llama large-language model. He emphasized that these projects will require tens of thousands of new hires across engineering, data science and hardware operations in states including Texas, Virginia and Ohio. Investors should watch for capital-expenditure guidance in the coming quarters, as Meta said it expects AI build-out to keep pressure on capex beyond the $70 billion to $72 billion forecast for 2025.

Data from Sensor Tower show that more than 50 percent of ads on Instagram in 2025 ran within its short-form video product Reels, up from 35 percent in 2024. In the U.S., Reels accounted for 46 percent of total time spent on Instagram, a rise from 37 percent the prior year, while on Facebook the share climbed to 29 percent. Although Zuckerberg noted in 2023 that Reels’ monetization efficiency lags the main Feed, analysts point out that overall ad dollars continue to grow as advertisers shift budgets toward short-form formats. Meta reported a combined Instagram and Facebook Reels annual run rate exceeding $50 billion in October, and investors will be keen to see how that figure evolves when fourth-quarter results are released on Jan. 28.

Market-intelligence firm Similarweb reports that Meta’s Threads app now attracts roughly 141.5 million daily active mobile users, compared with an estimated 125 million for Elon Musk’s X. Launched in 2023 as a text-based alternative to Twitter, Threads has steadily added users on iOS and Android, leveraging cross-promotion within Meta’s family of apps. While X retains a larger web-based audience of about 150 million daily visits, Threads’ mobile growth underscores Meta’s ability to compete in text-focused social media. Investors will monitor whether this engagement gain translates into higher ARPU as Meta refines monetization tools for Threads.

Britain’s Gambling Commission publicly accused Meta of “turning a blind eye” to advertisements for illegal online casinos on Facebook and Instagram. The regulator said criminals continue to place paid ads targeting UK users, alleging that Meta has insufficient screening processes. Meta declined to comment on the Commission’s findings. The issue raises regulatory risk as Meta expands its ad business worldwide, and investors should watch for potential fines or stricter content-moderation mandates in key markets such as the U.K. and European Union.