S&P’s negative outlook on Meta underscores the risks of the AI spending boom

Late Friday, S&P Globalrevisedits outlook onMetato “negative” from “stable,” citing negative cash flow and uncertainty around its capital expenditure plans,Fortune’sJason Mareports. The agency affirmed Meta’s AA- credit rating but warned that the company’s leverage could exceed 1.0x as early as 2027.

That’s the threshold for Meta’s current rating.

Leverage is up from about 0.1x in 2025, largely because of Meta’s strategy of leasing data-center capacity, rather than relying solely on traditional debt financing.

S&P projectsMeta’s capexwill reach $140 billion this year, exceed $225 billion in 2027…