Meta Platforms weighs its first bond sale and new capital structure
Fritz Jorgensen

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is considering a bond sale - its first - as it asks banks to hold investor meetings for such an issue.
The company may pursue a senior unsecured debt offering after asking Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Barclays to set up fixed-income investor calls, according to Bloomberg.
Meta is one of just 18 S&P 500 companies without outstanding debt outside of lease liabilities, according to the report. But it has capacity to issue up to $50B worth. And the company is receiving strong investment-grade ratings from S&P and Moody's.
Meta noted in second-quarter earnings that it had $24.3B available for stock repurchases as of the end of the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the company says that its pivot toward short-form video means it will end Facebook Live Shopping Oct. 1. In a message to business customers, it says that they'll still be able to use Facebook Live for events, but won't be able to create "product playlists" or tag products in the videos.
That's news that spurred a spike in Shopify.
"As consumersâ viewing behaviors are shifting to short-form video, we are shifting our focus to Reels on Facebook and Instagram, Metaâs short-form video product," the company says. "If you want to reach and engage people through video, try experimenting with Reels and Reels ads on Facebook and Instagram," where it notes companies can tag products for discovery.
The company launched Live Shopping events on Facebook and Instagram Nov. 1, 2021.
As communications and big tech stocks rally today, Meta (META) is at the front of the pack, up 5%. Year-to-date, the stock is still down over 50% (see a chart vs. the S&P 500 and the Communication Services SPDR fund here).