Meta swings from after-hours surge to dual decline in stocks and bonds: future spending commitments soar to $825 billion, credit risk indicator hits record high.

BlockBeats news, October 23 - Meta's third-quarter earnings and fourth-quarter guidance both exceeded expectations, with shares rising more than 6.5% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. However, regulatory filings disclosed on Thursday show that as of the end of September this year, the company's total committed future expenditures reached approximately $825 billion, covering leases, cloud computing contracts, data centers and other agreements, with a large portion of the funds directly related to AI computing power and infrastructure construction. This figure has surged significantly from the approximately $700 billion disclosed in July this year, with more than $100 billion in new commitments added in just a few months.

The market reversed course immediately. At Thursday's U.S. stock market close, Meta fell about 7%, with market capitalization evaporating by more than $100 billion. The price of five-year credit default swaps (CDS) measuring Meta's credit risk soared to a record high, and the company's bonds weakened significantly relative to U.S. Treasuries.

Analysts noted that this reflects deep-seated investor concerns: tech giants are continuously taking on debt to expand AI, which will further intensify pressure on an already oversupplied bond market. Meanwhile, CDS prices for hyperscalers such as Oracle, Microsoft, and Broadcom as well as chip manufacturers have also risen in tandem, indicating that market vigilance over debt risks across the entire tech industry is spreading.