Meta Loses $200B in One Day
4IR - Daily AI News
Welcome back to 4IR. Here’s today’s lineup:
Meta loses $200B in one day as Wall Street revolts against AI spending - Zuckerberg’s bet on AI delivers record revenue but investors tank the stock 11% after he raises the 2025 AI budget to $72 billion and promises even more next year
Google crosses $100 billion quarter for first time, proving AI actually makes money - While Meta bleeds, Alphabet shows what winning looks like: 34% cloud growth, 650M Gemini users, and Wall Street cheering a $93 billion spending bump because the money is already coming back
Amazon and Apple save tech’s week with massive earnings after Meta disaster - AWS hits 20% growth proving companies are actually paying for AI, while Apple’s forecast sends both stocks soaring 13% and 3% in the relief rally everyone needed
Meta loses $200B in one day as Wall Street revolts against AI spending
The story: Meta’s stock crashed 11% on October 30th—its worst single day since October 2022—wiping out roughly $200 billion in value. The weird part? The results were actually good. Revenue hit $51.2 billion, up 26% from last year and beating expectations. So what went wrong? It’s what Zuckerberg said next: we’re now spending $70-72 billion on AI in 2025 (raised from $66-72 billion), and 2026 will be even bigger. CFO Susan Li made it worse by saying 2026 costs will grow at a “significantly faster” rate, driven by data centers and AI talent. Investors heard “we’re spending more than ever with no idea when it pays off” and smashed the sell button.
What we know:
Meta stock dropped 11%, erasing around $200-220 billion in value
Q3 revenue was $51.2 billion (26% higher than last year), beating forecasts
Raised 2025 spending to $70-72 billion, up from $66-72 billion before
2026 spending will be “notably larger” according to the CFO
Over 1 billion people now use Meta AI monthly, Zuckerberg says
Company also took a $15.93 billion one-time tax hit that crushed reported earnings
Why it matters: This is the moment investors stopped giving Big Tech unlimited money for AI. Meta’s results were actually strong—revenue up across every product. But Wall Street is done with “trust me” when it comes to $70+ billion yearly AI budgets. The comparison with Google hurts: Alphabet raised spending to $93 billion the same week and got a 5% stock jump because they’re showing actual AI money coming in. Meta’s problem isn’t spending on AI. It’s that Zuckerberg can’t explain when these billions turn into profit.
The metaverse burned $47 billion before Meta switched to AI. Investors remember. What’s wild is the timing—Meta just fired 600 people from its AI lab last week, then said they’re spending more than ever. The message is confusing: “We’re cutting people to be more efficient... so we can spend way more money.” The $15.93 billion tax bill made things messier, but the real issue is simpler: when you promise the future of AI and show a chatbot, investors want to see how you make money from it.
Google crosses $100 billion quarter for first time, proving AI actually makes money
The story: Alphabet just did something huge—crossed $100 billion in quarterly revenue while proving that spending billions on AI actually works. Q3 revenue hit $102.4 billion, crushing the $99.9 billion expected. But here’s the real story: Google Cloud revenue jumped 34% to $15.2 billion (beating estimates). CEO Sundar Pichai said they have $155 billion in future cloud contracts already signed. The Gemini app now has 650 million monthly users, up from 450 million last quarter. AI Mode, launched just months ago, already has 75 million people using it daily. Best part? Alphabet said they’re raising 2025 spending to $91-93 billion and the stock went up 5%. That’s the exact opposite of Meta’s reaction, and it’s because Google is showing the results.
What we know:
First $100 billion+ quarter: revenue hit $102.4 billion vs $99.9B expected
Google Cloud surged 34% to $15.2 billion, beating $14.7B forecast
They have $155 billion in signed cloud contracts, up 46% from last quarter
Gemini app grew to 650 million monthly users (from 450M last quarter)
AI Mode has 75 million daily users in 40 languages
Raised 2025 spending to $91-93 billion (from $85B), stock gained 5%
Why it matters: This is what winning looks like when you put numbers on the board. Google isn’t just spending billions on AI—they’re turning it into money you can count. The 34% cloud growth shows companies are paying real dollars for AI services. The 650 million Gemini users show people are actually using it. Most important: Wall Street rewarded the higher spending because Google showed them how the money comes back. This is Meta’s exact opposite. Both spend similar amounts on AI. One gets punished, the other gets praised. The difference is results.
That $155 billion in signed cloud contracts is the number that matters most. That’s real money coming in, not dreams. Google signed billion-dollar deals with companies like Meta and Anthropic this year—yes, Meta is paying Google for AI while investors punish Meta’s own AI spending. Pichai’s talk about controlling everything from chips to apps isn’t just talk. They own the whole stack and it’s printing money while others figure out their plan.
Amazon and Apple save tech’s week with massive earnings after Meta disaster
The story: Amazon and Apple reported earnings Thursday night on October 30th and instantly saved Big Tech’s terrible week. Amazon’s stock jumped 13% after crushing estimates, led by AWS growing 20%—the speed-up everyone was waiting for. The cloud business proved that companies are really paying big money for AI. Apple climbed 3% on better-than-expected results and good holiday forecasts. The relief was real. After Meta’s Wednesday crash dragged the Nasdaq down 1.6% during the day, futures bounced back hard—S&P 500 futures rose 0.6% and Nasdaq futures popped 1.1% after hours. Tech week went from disaster to victory in one night.
What we know:
Amazon stock surged 13%+ after hours, Apple rose 3%
AWS revenue grew 20%, beating expectations and speeding back up
Amazon beat on both revenue and profit after adjusting for one-time stuff
Apple delivered strong Q4 with upbeat December quarter forecast
S&P 500 futures gained 0.6%, Nasdaq futures jumped 1.1% after the reports
Regular trading saw Nasdaq drop 1.6% on Meta/Microsoft worries before the comeback
Why it matters: This was the proof Big Tech needed badly. AWS growing 20% shows that companies spending on AI is real and getting bigger into 2026. Businesses aren’t just testing anymore—they’re committing serious budgets to AI. Amazon got called an “AI loser” after their last report, and this completely flips that story. The AWS growth matters more than anything because it tells us whether all this AI spending has actual paying customers behind it. Answer: yes. Apple’s strength shows regular consumers are fine too, which matters when people keep worrying about a recession.
The swing from Wednesday to Thursday shows how nervous everyone is. Meta crashes the market, then Amazon and Apple save it 24 hours later. But here’s the real story: investors are learning to tell the difference between AI spending that has money attached versus AI spending based on hope. Amazon’s AWS numbers prove customers are paying real money. Meta’s numbers prove... people use the free chatbot. That’s everything.
Note: Commentary sections are editorial interpretation, not factual claims