According to CoinMeta, the free cash flow of Meta Platforms plummeted by 91% against the backdrop of soaring expenditures on artificial intelligence ( AI ), dropping to just $784 million. Over the past few years, Meta has significantly increased its capital expenditures ( capex ) in pursuit of a leading position in artificial intelligence, investing $30 billion in the second quarter alone. As expenditures grew faster than the company's profits, free cash flow inevitably shrunk, and Meta is currently in this situation. Management believes that the company must maintain its lead in the competition of business models and consumer hardware. Investors should be cautious and wait to see if there will be a profit growth and recovery of free cash flow in the coming quarters brought about by AI.