Meta Platforms Jumps 6% on AI Cloud Ambitions: Can It Challenge Amazon and CoreWeave?

Meta Platforms jumped about 6% in Friday morning trading, moving to roughly $670 versus $631.48 at Thursday’s close, as investors recalibrated the economics of its AI cloud buildout. The update follows a Reuters-reported internal memo and a new Bank of America note that portray Meta’s AI infrastructure spending as more capital-efficient than Wall Street expected. Bank of America analyst Justin Post reiterated a Buy rating and an $835 price target. Meta is targeting around 14 gigawatts across 2026 and 2027, aligning with a raised 2026 capex range of $125 to $145 billion. Zuckerberg has floated renting AI compute, with concepts compared to AWS and CoreWeave, while a custom chip called Iris is planned to enter manufacturing this fall with Broadcom and TSM. The move intensifies competition as Amazon’s AWS posted $37.59 billion revenue in Q1 2026 (+28% year over year), while CoreWeave’s revenue backlog includes major commitments from Meta.