CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the firm intends to sell its AI tools to other companies for the first time.

Meta shares plunged on Wednesday as investors balked at its promise to keep spending on artificial intelligence (AI) projects while profits dwindle. Shares in the firm behind Instagram and Facebook fell as much as 11% in extended trading after its results for the quarter from April to June showed revenue grew 28% from a year ago to $61bn (£45.6bn), while profits fell 14% to $6bn. Meta said it would spend $130bn to $145bn this year, mostly on AI, up from the $125bn it said it planned to spend just three months ago. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the firm's AI spending was "accelerating every part of our core business" and it plans to start selling the technology to other companies. Susan Li, Meta's chief financial officer, told financial analysts that selling its tech to other companies would help it drive returns on its AI spending. Such lines of business have not yet materialised. Meta's free cash flow for the quarter, what it held onto after paying for its operations, was $784m, the lowest level of the metric it has posted in at least five years, according to its financial records. "What it generated in cash this quarter almost all got eaten by AI infrastructure spending", analyst Mike Proulx at Forrester said. "Investors now have to decide whether Meta's growing list of AI initiatives represents company diversification or distraction." "There's a bit of similarity to Meta's metaverse missteps in that Meta is once again spending ahead of proven product demand," Proulx added, referring to the firm's previous spending of tens of billions of dollars on virtual reality experiences that fell flat with users.