Zuckerberg Asks for Patience as Meta’s AI Push Spooks Market (1)

Mark Zuckerberg is asking investors for patience again. Instead, they’re alarmed.

After Meta Platforms Inc.revealed that it will spend billions of dollars more than expected this year — fueled by investments in artificial intelligence — the company’s chief executive officer did his best to soothe Wall Street. But the spending forecast, coupled with slower sales growth than anticipated, sent the shares tumbling as much as 16% in New York on Thursday morning, the biggest drop since October 2022.

Mark Zuckerberg

Photographer: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

It was a familiar pitch for Zuckerberg, who has said before that the company’s futuristic technological bets will eventually pay ...