A standoff inside Meta over AI-era spending and executive pay appears to have grown unusually severe, Futurism reported.
Those tensions are unfolding as Meta shares have dropped more than 13%, increasing attention on the cost of the company's AI expansion.
Here's what to know
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been seeking a sizable increase in stock-based compensation.
Citing The Wall Street Journal, Futurism noted that several Meta directors were willing to leave the board if Zuckerberg kept pushing for a major raise paid largely in stock.
By early September, a three-person board team had started mapping out an alternative in case he refused to back off. That backup plan included "resignation from the board" as a last resort.
The Wall Street Journal described the dispute between Zuckerberg and the board as a "war over power and money."
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
However, money appears to sit at the center of the rift. Meta posted negative free cash flow of $2.12 billion in Q3 2026, which marked the company's first time in the red since 2012.
Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth, summarized investor concerns in comments to Reuters: "More spending, negative free cash flow, not enough revenue being generated from the spend [is] concerning investors that this is just sort of a bit of a money pit."
More background
The fight over spending reflects a broader question facing the tech industry: How much can companies sink into AI before investors start demanding a change in strategy?
At Meta, the reported backlash looks to be tied to Zuckerberg's determination to keep investing heavily in AI infrastructure. That stance showed up at an October 2025 investor meeting, where Zuckerberg defended the spending while acknowledging uncertainty around the wider AI boom.
"I think it's the right strategy to aggressively front-load building capacity so that way we're prepared for the most optimistic cases," he told stockholders in 2025.
Large AI systems require enormous computing power, hitching their expansion to data centers that consume significant amounts of electricity and water.
At the same time, AI can optimize complex systems, including clean energy networks, so the technology's impact isn't entirely one-directional.
Even so, AI's rapid growth can strain resources, drive up costs, raise security concerns, and create unintended societal consequences.
Meta has run into problems with AI security testing and automation rollouts, Futurism added, along with what it described as "the ongoing Muse safety debacle."
What's being done?
By early September, the three-member negotiation team was already working on a fallback option, indicating that some directors were prepared to take an extraordinary step rather than simply accept Zuckerberg's compensation demands.
Board resistance is one of the few visible checks shareholders can point to when a company's AI strategy grows costly enough to threaten cash flow.
In this case, the reported threat of resignations suggests that at least some board members wanted leverage against a CEO who has continued to push for heavy AI investment.
Zuckerberg, meanwhile, has already made the company's position clear: Keep spending to expand AI capacity in anticipation of future demand.
Meta appears to be trying to do two difficult things at once — defend an AI expansion strategy while managing a financial setback that has alarmed investors.
Conflicts like this can shape company priorities and affect how quickly AI products are developed, tested, and funded.
Where can I learn more?
These stories offer more context on the financial and leadership strain around Meta's AI push.
• At Meta, investors erased $20 billion from Zuckerberg's fortune as AI spending worries grew.
• Meta poured $100 billion into AI before seeking hundreds of billions more for expansion.
• Inside Meta, AI productivity demands intensified as employees faced pressure to work more, not less.
• Meta chose to train its AI on Newsmax, deepening controversy around its systems.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
