Equities

Meta will hand every shareholder a new non-voting share to help pay for AI

Meta's board approved a publicly listed, non-voting Class C stock, effective January 2027, and will pay one Class C share for every Class A and Class B share. The company says it needs the flexibility for capital raising, employee pay and deals as AI spending climbs.

By Marcus Rodriguez · Oct 22, 2026, 2:40 PM EDT · Updated Oct 23, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT

Why it matters: Every Meta holder gets a new non-voting share, and Meta gets a stock it says it can use to raise capital, pay staff and fund deals.

For information only, not investment advice. Prices delayed.

Tickers: META

Meta Platforms ($META) is creating a new kind of stock, and every existing shareholder gets a piece of it. The board approved a publicly listed, non-voting Class C common stock, effective January 19, 2027, and declared a one-time dividend of one Class C share for each Class A and Class B share outstanding. Meta says it expects Class A shares to trade as if after a two-for-one split once that dividend is paid, and that the dividend "will not change the voting power of any shareholder."

The point, by Meta's own account, is money. The release says the new class is for capital raising, employee compensation, potential acquisitions and other general purposes, because "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." Chief financial officer Susan Li said on the earnings call that the shares will "expand our funding tools," The Verge reported. Meta did not announce a specific stock offering.

The footnote worth reading is the one about Mark Zuckerberg. Under a Founder Alignment Agreement in Meta's 8-K, only 20% of the Class C shares his group receives are freely saleable. The other 80% are restricted and released at 2.5% a quarter while he stays in a full-time leadership role. Shareholders have already approved the charter change by written consent.

The announcement landed alongside third-quarter results: revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26% from a year earlier, and a $9.89 billion charge related to its agreement with state attorneys general. Meta narrowed its 2026 capital spending forecast to $135 billion to $145 billion and guided fourth-quarter revenue to $73 billion to $76 billion. Meta shares were at $697.52, up 0.47%, as of Oct 21, 4:00 PM ET.

Tags: big-tech · ai · earnings · buybacks-dividends · guidance