Samsung and Meta’s contrasting results highlighted the diverging fortunes of the companies supplying — and paying for — the AI buildout.
The South Korean giant’s chipmaking division posted a 250-fold increase in quarterly operating profit as demand for semiconductors soared.
Meta, however, announced lower-than-anticipated revenue forecasts and an $8 billion hit to free cash flow as it predicted over $130 billion in capital expenditure this year, sending shares tumbling 11%. Rival Alphabet also reported negative free cash flow last month for the first time on the back of huge AI spending.
Investors “have to decide whether Meta’s growing list of AI initiatives represents company diversification or distraction,” one analyst told the Financial Times.
