The short version

Ben Thompson predicted on April 25, 2024: “What is clear already is that Meta’s ad business is going to throw off phenomenal amounts of cash for years, and the company is going to funnel a huge chunk of that into AI.” Verdict: Called it. Meta's ad revenue and operating income remained strong through 2025, consistently outperforming broader digital ad growth.…

Prediction by

Ben Thompson

On April 25, 2024

“What is clear already is that Meta’s ad business is going to throw off phenomenal amounts of cash for years, and the company is going to funnel a huge chunk of that into AI.”

Follow-up

Meta's ad revenue and operating income remained strong through 2025, consistently outperforming broader digital ad growth. Meta's capital expenditure guidance for 2024-2025 indicated sharply rising investment, primarily for AI infrastructure. The company reiterated that the majority of capex was for AI, aligning with the prediction that ad cashflows would fund AI investments.

From the High Caliber AI network — see the AI for PR module in the course.