Figma says it’s hiring less because of AI. Wall Street doesn’t seem impressed

Shares of Figma Inc (NYSE: FIG) are down more than 14% in premarket trading on Thursday as investors appear to be having doubts about its heavy investments in AI.

On Wednesday, August 5, the design software firm published its second quarter earnings report, including $426.9 million in operating expenses—nearly double year over year (YOY).

The largest chunk of expenses came from research and development, at $167.3 million for the quarter, compared to $83.1 million the year before. 

Figma further reported a $117.3 million GAAP loss from operations. 

While Figma touted a 48% YOY revenue increase to $370.1 million, it wasn’t enough to calm investors, who have become easily spooked by fears of AI overinvestment. 

The stock drop came despite Figma executives’ hinting at AI’s potential to reduce overhead.

In Figma’s postearnings call, CFO Praveer Melwani said the company is “hiring fewer people today than we originally had planned. And that’s because we’ve been able to augment the team that we have with AI and tools, and it’s seen modernization of processes across the board.” 

Figma raises its 2026 guidance

Figma offers AI tools for workflow and design, with this quarter being its first to fully include AI credit monetization. 

Despite large expenses, Figma is focusing on revenue numbers, raising its 2026 guidance to between $1.463 billion and $1.467 billion—an average of 39% growth YOY. This is an increase from last quarter’s prediction of $1.422 billion-$1.428 billion, or 35% YOY growth. 

Figma’s shares are down 25% this year and almost 69% over the last 12 months. The company went public just over a year ago in one of the most anticipated IPOs of 2025.