Meta's strong earnings report sent its stock soaring after hours. The company also made it clear that the AI talent wars come with a hefty price tag.

In the midst of an artificial intelligence spending spree, Meta posted stronger-than-expected results for the second quarter, buoyed by growing ad revenue even as its expenses increased

At last glance, META stock is up 12.48% to trade at $782.71, on track for its best single-session gain since April 9. In response, 35 brokerages have issued price-target hikes, the highest coming from Rosenblatt Securities to $1,

Meta is shifting how it plans to ensure widespread access to superintelligence, a suggestion that the company’s most advanced AI may remain closed so that Meta can stay in the driver’s seat.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors that his new research lab will focus on building AI models that can learn with minimal human input.