When Meta used superstar Kylie Jenner to promote its sleek new line of “spy glasses”, the social media company hoped the devices would reach the same broad acceptance that tablets and smartwatches have found before them.
But those plans have hit a snag in the UK, where venues from elite restaurants to popular pub chains have banned the £359 glasses in order to preserve the privacy of customers and staff.
Celebrated restaurateur Jeremy King, owner of London venues including Simpsons in the Strand, Arlington and The Park, said guests should not wear the recording glasses.
He told the Guardian: “I would never knowingly allow any invasion of guest privacy other than with the eyes we were born with.”
Restaurateur Jeremy King looks unfavourably on the smartglasses in his restaurants. Photograph: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Christina MakrisThose wearing the glasses in Soho House’s private members’ clubs can also be expected to be asked to remove them. A spokesperson confirmed filming is not allowed in their venues, and these devices are no exception.
Even pub chain Wetherspoons will not allow people to record using the glasses inside.
Tim Martin, its chief executive, said: “The general code that applies in our pubs, and most pubs, is that you can’t film customers or employees without their permission. Meta glasses seem to breach this code, and common sense, by enabling surreptitious surveillance, so our instinct is to say turn off the cameras. This is akin to our efforts to stop audible playing of videos in our pubs, which also invades people’s space.”
Those who want to wear their Meta glasses to the theatre may face obstacles too. A spokesperson for ATG Theatres, which owns the Bristol Hippodrome, Edinburgh Playhouse, and various theatres across London, said that filming is not allowed and that those wearing the glasses during shows will be asked to remove them.
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The glasses resemble normal eyewear, with the Jenner-designed model featuring a fashionable cat-eye design – with tiny cameras embedded. Meta says it hopes that the design allows users to stay “in the moment” without constantly looking down at a smartphone.
There have been widespread fears about the glasses being used to film people without their consent, with the resultant footage posted on social media. Though Meta points to the tiny, flashing LED light that activates on the glasses when they are being used to film, there have already been multiple instances of people complaining they have been videoed without prior knowledge.
In one instance, a woman told the BBC a man recorded her, and then demanded money to remove the videos from social media. Another woman described being recorded during sexual encounters without her consent.
Instagram has cracked down on nonconsensual videos made using the glasses posted on the platform. “If you’re posting content that is taking advantage of people and harassing them, like a lot of these pickup line kind of videos that we’ve heard of and seen, then we’re going to take the content down,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri said.
Guardian journalist Elle Hunt put Meta’s smartglasses through its paces on the streets of Norwich earlier this year. Photograph: Ali Smith/The GuardianMeta has tried hard to make wearing the glasses a mainstream choice, handing out free pairs to popular social media influencers. Sales of the devices have tripled in the last year, with more than 7m sold worldwide.
Those seven million people do have some venues in the UK where they and their glasses are welcome. Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge, who owns pubs and restaurants in Marlow, told the Guardian: “I have no problem whatsoever with them. Filming is part of everyday life now. In fact I think that they can be used in creative and exciting ways. The first thought about them shouldn’t be negative!”
A Meta spokesperson said: “People use our glasses because they’re genuinely helpful – from listening to music, to live translation or hands-free calls. For those wearing them and the people around them, trust matters. That’s why we built privacy into our AI glasses from the ground up. For example, every pair has a capture LED that blinks when you take a photo or video that you can save or share, it can’t be turned off, and if someone covers or damages the LED, the camera is disabled.”
Meta Platforms is upgraded from Buy to Strong Buy, reflecting its transformation into a diversified AI company beyond advertising. META leverages AI to drive ad revenue, pricing power, and operational efficiency while launching new AI-driven products and services for its 3.6B user base. Despite a sharp FCF drop due to $32B CapEx and one-off charges, META's ad business grew 27% YoY, with ARPP reaching a record $16.86.
Digitalbox PLC (AIM:DBOX, FRA:RLXB), the owner of The Daily Mash, The Tab and The Poke, has signed up more than 200 online creators in an attempt to reduce its reliance on traffic from social media platforms.
The Creator Network, launched this year, is intended to scale up the company's original video output and open new revenue lines beyond conventional digital publishing.
Digitalbox expects to be publishing around 500 original videos a month by October.
The strategy is a direct response to changes at Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, which has reweighted its algorithms to favour content made by individual creators.
Those changes hit Digitalbox's audience numbers from the second quarter onwards and have prompted a rebasing of expectations for the year.
Investors were told revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the full year to come in below market expectations.
Consensus had pointed to revenue of £5 million and adjusted earnings of £800,000.
First-half revenue fell 12% to about £1.7 million and earnings were roughly breakeven.
Second-half revenue is expected to fall by a similar low double-digit percentage against last year, with the company taking what it called a cautious view.
Cost cuts have been made and Digitalbox now expects a full-year earnings margin of about 8%, with the investment in the Creator Network itself contributing to the squeeze.
Cash stood at about £2 million at the end of June.
The company said advertising performance, session values and yields had all improved year on year, with the problem lying in audience volumes rather than the rates it can charge.
Trading was strong in the first quarter before the Meta changes took effect, and June brought some recovery in engagement.
Digitalbox is also pitching branded content services to advertisers across both text and video, arguing that artificial intelligence is disrupting the media market and increasing the value of trusted publishing brands.
The Creator Network will sit alongside The Tab Student Network and the group's Entertainment Network, which includes TV Guide and soap opera sites such as Coronation Street Insider.
James Carter, chief executive, said the company was building a business less reliant on traditional publishing economics.
Meta today released Muse Code, a terminal-based AI coding agent now in beta, alongside Muse Spark 1.2, a coding-focused update to its Muse Spark family of frontier models — a one-two punch that puts the company in direct competition with Anthropic's Claude Code, OpenAI's Codex, and the growing field of agentic coding harnesses that have rapidly become the primary way many professional developers ship software. "Releasing Muse Code in beta today," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post on rival social network X (under his longtime handle @finkd).
Image Credits:David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images Meta, considered a bit of a straggler in the AI harnesses realm, is making strides to catch up. This week, the company released a new terminal coding agent aimed at programmers looking for assistance with complex tasks across large software code bases.
Muse Code, which is currently available in beta, can accomplish “complete software engineering tasks across large repos,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a social media post on Wednesday. Those tasks include “planning changes, writing code, validating the results,” he added.
Code, which can be installed with a single command, is powered by Meta’s previously released coding model, Muse Spark. It handles large projects by launching its own agents, which then work simultaneously.
“When a job is big enough, it fans out to separate sub-agents working in parallel in isolated worktrees,” Zuckerberg explained. “Your working copy is never touched. In testing we had it build six features for a game simultaneously with no collisions.”
The move attempts to position Meta more competitively, and more affordably, with AI Lab peers like OpenAI and its coding agent Codex, and Anthropic with Claude Code.
“We think that for a lot of workflows and a lot of use cases, this can be an incredibly good option, especially from a cost perspective,” Alexandr Wang, Meta’s AI chief, who leads Meta Superintelligence Labs, told the Wall Street Journal.
Meta has been attempting to grow its AI presence by pouring money into development. In June, it expanded beyond its core focus of using AI to support its advertising business and entered the enterprise AI market with an agent aimed customer service and support.
Meta Platforms on Wednesday launched Muse Code, a coding tool powered by its latest AI model, Muse Spark 1.2, designed to help developers write and debug software.
Meta announced a new coding agent, Muse Code, that will be priced lower than its competitors at Anthropic and OpenAI. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images Meta is entering the coding wars with a new agent aimed at taking on Anthropic and OpenAI.
The company announced Wednesday a beta version of Muse Code — powered by its Muse Spark 1.2 AI model — that Meta said can handle complex software engineering tasks, such as writing code and validating results.
Muse Code is Meta's answer to tools like Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI's Codex, which have become increasingly popular among developers.
Meta's AI chief Alexandr Wang said in an X post that Muse Code is "one of the most affordable coding agents on the market, available globally."
The standard version of Muse Spark 1.2 costs $1.25 per million input tokens, 15 cents per million cached-input tokens, and $4.25 per million output tokens. Tokens are small pieces of text or code that AI models process.
A heavily discounted "contributor" tier comes with a stipulation that user activity will be used to improve Meta's products. That could appeal to individual developers and startups, while companies working with proprietary code may prefer the standard tier.
Direct comparisons can be difficult since Claude Code and Codex are bundled into subscriptions. Anthropic's Pro Plan, which is $20 a month, includes Claude Code, while Max plans cost $100 to $200 a month. OpenAI's Codex is available through a ChatGPT Plus plan that costs $20 a month. OpenAI's Pro plan costs $100 a month.
The launch reflects how software coding has become a critical part of the AI battleground. Unlike a standard chatbot, a coding agent can examine a company's software, run tests, and write code with limited supervision.
Anthropic gained early traction with Claude Code, while OpenAI expanded Codex across ChatGPT and developer terminals.
During Meta's first-quarter earnings call in April, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that developer tools weren't the company's primary focus, though he added that he was not opposed to offering coding tools.
With Muse Code, Meta seems to be hoping to attract the same programmers who might use Claude or Codex by offering a comparable agent at a lower price.
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Meta is rolling out its first coding agent called Muse Code as the company tries to challenge leading AI labs Anthropic and OpenAI.
Muse Code is latest major release from AI chief Alexandr Wang, who leads Meta Superintelligence Labs and oversees foundation model development. Wang joined in June of last year as the centerpiece of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's effort to revamp his company's flailing artificial intelligence strategy.
"You can install it with one command and then use it to take on complete software engineering tasks across a wide variety of use cases, planning changes, writing code, validating the results," Wang said in an interview on Wednesday.
The new coding agent represents another way Zuckerberg aims to generate revenue from AI as his company continues investing heavily into data centers and related computing infrastructure. The company's shares tumbled last week after Meta issued a light revenue forecast and revealed dwindling free cash flow in the second quarter.
The new tool, like Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's Codex assistants, makes it easier for people to build apps within a single user interface while managing fleets of AI-powered digital agents that can help underpin the software development process.
Muse Code, available in a preview version, works alongside the company's latest AI model, Muse Spark 1.2. Wang declined to share user statistics related to the company's Muse Spark AI models, but said "adoption has been exciting and strong."
The latest Muse Spark model was developed and trained alongside Muse Code, which Wang said improves the overall coding performance.
Developers can access Muse Code through a pay-as-you-go option. Wang said the agent has "a contributor tier that gets you in at a significantly lower cost," which he characterizes as being "more than 10 times cheaper than than even the pay-as-you-go tier."
Meta is differentiating its new AI coding tool and Muse Spark family of models by price rather than capabilities when compared to popular offerings from from Anthropic and OpenAI, Wang said.
Underpinning Muse Code is a so-called harness, which lets developers manage AI models, tailored for coding projects.
Wang said users will be able to access and pay for Muse Code on the same Meta developer page that hosts the company's Muse Spark AI model API. Meta's newer AI model will also be available on the OpenRouter platform that hosts popular AI models like the so-called open-weight AI models from Chinese labs like DeepSeek and Z.ai.
Wang said Meta is "also starting to accept requests for zero-data retention," meaning the company wouldn't retain developer data to improve models. He said it represents "a big enterprise feature that is important for folks." Meta gets 98% of its revenue from online ads, a market it dominates by targeting consumers based on user data.
WATCH: I was shocked and disappointed Meta didn't seem to have a plan, says Jim Cramer.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META, Financials), the company behind Facebook and Instagram, is facing growing pressure in India after local media reported that CEO Mark
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52-Week Range$520.26▼
$796.25Dividend Yield0.36%
P/E Ratio21.98
Price Target$785.32
Meta Platform’s NASDAQ: META Q2 earnings distinctly disappointed investors, as demonstrated by the stock’s 8% fall after the report.
Wall Street analysts did not react well to the report either, with many issuing substantial price target decreases afterward.
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These decreases were also more significant compared to past earnings reports.
However, analysts have not abandoned this Magnificent Seven giant by any stretch of the imagination, with most still pointing to substantial upside going forward.
Meta’s Q2 Report: The Good, the Bad, and the UglyMeta managed to beat sales estimates in Q2, with revenue rising 28% year-over-year (YOY). Despite the beat, there were just a few positive aspects to Meta’s report outside of this.
Meta posted a steep earnings-per-share (EPS) miss, driven largely by legal issues that surfaced earlier in 2026, resulting in a multi-billion-dollar expense. To make matters even worse, the firm had to pay the piper for its recent layoffs, incurring over $1 billion in severance expenses that also put substantial downward pressure on EPS. Although adjusting for these expenses makes Meta’s EPS post look much less disappointing, these are still real costs to the company at the end of the day.
The company indicated that substantial legal expenses could persist in the future, noting that its youth-related legal issues could result in a material loss.
The negatives did not end there. The midpoint of Meta’s revenue guidance also came in below expectations, an outcome that is particularly unfavorable given the firm’s massive AI spending. Additionally, Meta beat sales estimates by the smallest margin among hyperscalers in Q2.
Meta continues to grow at an over 25% year-over-year clip, a strong rate for a company of its size. However, with such drastic AI spending helping drive this growth, markets are not likely to give the firm the benefit of the doubt when key metrics are not up to par. Analyst price targets indicate sell-siders may be reducing how much leeway they are willing to give Meta as well.
Meta Price Targets Take a Big HitThe MarketBeat consensus price target on Meta sits near $790, a figure that implies very significant upside potential of more than 30%. However, the picture looks less aggressive when measured against more recently updated analyst targets after the company’s report. Other current target averages sit closer to the mid-$700s, implying upside in the high-20% range rather than the low-30% range.
Current Price$593.20High Forecast$1,000.00Average Forecast$785.32Low Forecast$595.00Meta Platforms Stock Forecast Details
This comes as analysts pushed their targets down substantially after Meta’s report. The average price target, based on MarketBeat's historical data, decreased by more than 10%, marking a bigger decline than the shares themselves. Some of the most bullish analysts on Meta cut their price targets by over $100. This includes Rosenblatt and Susquehanna. Rosenblatt previously had a $1,015 target on Meta, but dropped this figure by 13% to $883. Susquehanna’s decrease was even more drastic, with its target falling by 28% from $900 to $650.
Analysts have often moved their price targets along a trajectory similar to Meta’s post-earnings price action. However, in many of these instances, price target movements have been relatively favorable, rising more when Meta gains and falling less when it drops.
It is noteworthy that the percentage decrease in targets was slightly greater than the actual decline shares observed. This indicates a greater deterioration in analyst sentiment after the report compared to past quarters. Still, analyst ratings provide some solace, with Meta having 39 Buy, eight Hold, and zero Sell ratings.
The Waiting Game for Non-Advertising Growth Catalysts ContinuesThe market holds Meta to a high standard, especially regarding growth, as its AI investments aim to provide growth tailwinds. At this point, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Meta to justify its AI spending based on advertising growth alone. The firm is in need of alternative catalysts in order to restore confidence among many investors.
The good news is that Meta is in the process of pulling growth levers, although many of these initiatives are in their early stages and have yet to yield actual results. This includes the potential pathway for selling its excess compute to third parties that are seeing strong demand for their AI services.
Additionally, Meta is working to monetize its Muse Spark 1.1 model, which was only released in July. This is the first time that Meta will try to directly monetize a model through token sales. Meta is expanding access to Muse Spark 1.1 through popular model distribution channels such as OpenRouter.
Lastly, Meta recently released subscription offerings that could drive meaningful growth if they gain significant adoption among Facebook and Instagram users.
There is still reason for optimism around Meta stock. However, investors should weigh the legal risk surrounding the company, and the risk that its non-ad growth may take a substantial amount of time to kick in.
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In Richland Parish, Louisiana, a parish of roughly 20,000 people, Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) is building a data-center complex costing more than $50 billion and housing its Hyperion AI cluster. According to The New York Times on July 27, 2026, roughly 6,000 temporary construction workers had poured into the area. Landlords converted trailer parks into worker housing. Hotel rooms in nearby Monroe were going for $400 a night. One resident saw her rent rise from $250 to $1,495 a month, was evicted, and slept in her car with her children for three weeks.
Now picture a 71-year-old hypothetical woman who has rented the same small house in that parish for decades. Her only income is Social Security. Some neighbors who owned land suddenly held windfalls: acreage that had been worth roughly $3,000 to $5,000 an acre sold for more than $50,000. She owns none of it. The same project enriching some landowners could price her out of the town she has called home for years.
The jobs and tax revenue are real. So is the divide between people who own an appreciating asset and people who receive a lease-renewal notice.
Why the COLA Cannot Catch a Local Rent Shock Social Security has a built-in inflation adjustment, but it is a blunt national instrument. The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 2.8%, calculated from the Q3 change in the CPI-W, a broad index tracking prices faced by urban wage earners and clerical workers. On a $1,600 monthly benefit, that raise works out to about $45 a month.
A $45 bump does nothing when the landlord is asking for hundreds more. The COLA reflects national inflation measured across many categories and locations. It has no special mechanism for a rural parish where thousands of workers arrive before the housing supply can catch up. Local rents can outrun the national figure by a wide margin, and Social Security will not respond in real time.
Renters also receive none of the offset available to homeowners. A landowner whose parcel went from $5,000 to $50,000 an acre has an asset to sell, borrow against, or pass on. A lifelong renter has a lease-renewal notice.
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How This Ripples Through the Rest of the Picture Louisiana looks affordable on paper. Its cost-of-living measures generally sit below the national average, which is one reason a fixed Social Security check has traditionally stretched further there. But affordability can change house by house. Drop thousands of workers into a parish of 20,000 before new housing is ready, and yesterday’s low rent can disappear much faster than any national statistic suggests.
For a renter with no home equity, no pension, and modest savings, Social Security is the entire floor. The FINRA Foundation’s National Financial Capability Study found that 65% of non-homeowners said higher housing costs had caused them to cut other spending, compared with 39% of homeowners.
When the income floor is fixed and the rent doubles, the cuts come from groceries, medicine, transportation, and every other bill that cannot call its own COLA.
What to Watch if a Boom Is Coming to Your Town A major development announcement is not an eviction notice, but it can serve as an early-warning system. Three moves buy time before the housing market tightens.
Learn the lease and local rules early. Notice periods, renewal terms, rent protections, and eviction procedures vary by state and city. Knowing what the landlord may legally do months ahead is different from learning it the week the lease expires. Join senior and income-restricted housing waitlists now. Section 202 senior housing, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit properties, and local housing-authority lists can take months or years to move. Getting onto a list before a crisis preserves an option that may not exist after the rent letter arrives. Build the plan without expecting the COLA to rescue it. A 2.8% adjustment tracks national inflation, not a local rental market jolted by thousands of new workers. Price nearby towns, identify transportation and healthcare trade-offs, and learn what moving assistance or rental aid is available before it becomes urgent. Every situation carries its own details, and a conversation with a local senior-services office or HUD-approved housing counselor can uncover options a national overview cannot. The hardest mistake to undo is waiting until the rent letter arrives to start looking.
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Meta Platforms (META -0.39%) CEO Mark Zuckerberg made some bold claims on the company's second-quarter earnings conference call, but they weren't enough to appease investors after the company reported lackluster earnings results.
The company's earnings came up short of Wall Street consensus estimates, and its revenue guidance for the current quarter also fell short of consensus. Free cash flow also tanked in the quarter to just $784 million, down from over $8.5 billion one year ago. This represented a 91% drop.
Image source: Getty Images.
Like other hyperscalers, Meta has seen free cash flow plummet due to massive investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The company is guiding for capital expenditures (capex) between $130 billion and $145 billion this year.
Despite the bad news, Zuckerberg also told analysts during the earnings call, "We're also progressing in our efforts to bring personal superintelligence to everyone, with exciting model releases, and we expect to build on that momentum over the course of this year with new products."
Do investors buy this vision?
Wall Street clearly isn't convinced yet Following the earnings report, Meta's stock plummeted. While it's possible investors overreacted, it's also clear they are not buying Zuckerberg's claims about superintelligence, a form of intelligence that can match or surpass human cognitive abilities.
AI can do some pretty incredible things, but it isn't yet clear that companies will achieve superintelligence. More so, it's unclear what ramifications actually achieving such technology might have for society.
Institutional investors typically won't credit companies with grandiose plans until it is clear they are reflected in a company's financials. Right now, investors see the financials trending in the wrong direction and are concerned that all of the capex will not yield adequate returns.
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For Meta in particular, I also think investors are likely skeptical of Zuckerberg's all-in spending plans, given what happened to the company's Reality Labs division.
Zuckerberg changed the name of the company from Facebook to Meta in 2021, on another big bet on virtual reality, wearable hardware, and the metaverse. But since late 2020, Reality Labs has racked up over $80 billion in operating losses.
Now obviously, companies like Meta can afford to make big bets and should to some extent. It's quite possible that not investing in AI could get them penalized by investors as well.
However, when you invest hundreds of billions, there is simply no margin for error. Companies that don't show results will see their stocks punished, and Zuckerberg's talk of superintelligence won't change anything in the stock's price until it materializes.
Meta Platform's Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to the Indian government over child sexual abuse material on Meta platforms and operational errors, local TV channels reported on Wednesday.
Meta Platforms, Inc. remains a Strong Buy, trading at an attractive valuation after a selloff driven by one-time charges and higher CapEx. Q2 revenue grew 27.9% year-over-year, with ad impressions up 14% and average price per ad up 12%, demonstrating core business strength. Forward growth is driven by monetizing a 3.6B user ecosystem, increasing average revenue per user by 23.5% year-over-year, not by user base expansion.
Charles Moon maps out the fundamental case for a trio of names on his radar: Meta Platforms (META), Okta Inc. (OKTA) and the GLD ETF. As markets reach new all-time highs, he explains why he's looking at 3 very different investing opportunities while Rick Ducat dives deep into the technical chart formations to monitor.
The geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has left the world short of oil and natural gas. These are commodities, so their prices have risen sharply. The ripple effect has been intense, impacting companies from consumer staples makers to technology giants. Here's why Meta (META -1.38%) investors should be watching the events unfolding in the Middle East today.
Meta's stock rose 7% in one day The quick 7% advance in Meta's stock didn't happen on any old day. It happened on the day that U.S. President Donald Trump announced yet another cooling in the Middle East conflict. There are clearly a lot of moving parts, but the technology giant's price action on this news is notable for shareholders.
Image source: Getty Images.
From a business standpoint, Meta has material operations in the Middle East. With Iran striking out at its neighbors, the risk of disruption to Meta's operations is material. It has offices in the UAE and in Israel; both regions are embroiled in the conflict, either directly or indirectly.
From a product standpoint, the company has users across the Middle East. Disruption caused by the conflict could reduce the use of Meta's services, thereby reducing its revenue. With advertising playing a big role in the company's top line, a lingering disruption could be impactful.
Then there's the impact that the Middle East conflict is having on costs throughout the economy. The most direct increases are being seen in energy prices, but higher costs there filter down through the economy, increasing overall inflation. The big risk here is that rising inflation would lead to higher interest rates, making borrowing more expensive.
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The AI build-out continues at a rapid clip AI spending is an important one for Meta right now, with the company planning to spend between $130 billion and $145 billion in 2026 on artificial intelligence. That's up from an earlier range of $115 billion to $135 billion. Meta issued debt in late 2025 and again in early 2026 to help fund this spending, bringing the total to around $55 billion. The second debt sale appeared to be less well-received than the first one.
In other words, Wall Street is already worried about Meta and its huge spending plans. Any disruption to its business, including from the conflict in the Middle East, would be a notable negative. And, any potential improvement would be a positive. Indeed, easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could reduce concerns across multiple aspects of the company's business. This is likely part of why the stock rose on news of the cooling in the Middle East. And these same trends impact other tech giants to varying degrees, as well.
SummaryMeta Platforms is upgraded to strong buy as AI-driven monetization opportunities for businesses become increasingly tangible, despite near-term free cash flow collapse.META's AI-powered ad tools and business agents are driving measurable engagement and conversion gains, supporting robust top-line growth and higher-margin revenue streams.Capital expenditures of $130–$145 billion through 2026–2027 are absorbing nearly all operating cash flow, compressing margins, and pausing buybacks, but position META for future AI scale.Valuation upside is anchored by 22% EBITDA CAGR and premium multiples justified by accelerating business-facing AI adoption, even as consumer AI monetization remains unproven.Looking for more investing ideas like this one? Get them exclusively at The Aerospace Forum. Learn More » Fritz Jorgensen/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Meta Platforms (META) delivered another quarter that makes the artificial intelligence investment case easier to understand but harder to value. The company is showing that AI-powered ranking, recommendations, and advertising tools can materially improve engagement
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Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) have been clobbered since the firm pulled the curtain on its underwhelming quarterly earnings results. The numbers themselves were okay (28% revenue growth is nothing to sneeze at), but compared to the other hyperscaler firms, the results were actually quite uninspiring, with a lot to be desired. Add heavy spend into the equation, and it’s not a mystery as to why investors rotated out of the name so violently last week.
One bad quarter doesn’t signify that all is lost with Meta, though, especially as the company continues to spend aggressively to catch up in the hyperscaler race while also funneling considerable sums into its superintelligence team, which now actually has something quite impressive to show for its many years of hard work with Muse Spark, a model that might actually convince some users to pay for.
As the company shifts gears a bit from using its own AI compute to selling compute to others via Meta Compute while looking to play in the same arena as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google with its new closed-source large language model Muse Spark, questions linger as to how the company’s AI strategy stands to evolve from here.
Yes, Meta is spending a lot. But it’s probably going to be money well spent While Meta’s seemingly worrisome spend to fund its AI plans was a primary reason to hit the sell button after the second-quarter reveal, I do think that to sell Meta here is to forego a dirt-cheap stock that’s well on track to win in the AI race as it looks to aggressively move forward in a way that could disrupt its fellow hyperscaler peers.
At the end of the day, Meta might be less far along in its CapEx cycle, but I do think it will make up for this with heavy spending and creative decisions made internally. Whether that’s an AI Zuckerberg or making use of Meta’s trove of internal data, I do think the firm is more than willing to add an exclamation point when it comes to its AI plan.
The major positive for Meta, at least in my opinion, is that Meta is entering the hyperscaler game at the best possible moment. It’s got the AI-native, AI-first mindset before the shovel goes into the ground — an advantage that I think much of Wall Street is heavily discounting, especially following a discouraging quarterly showing.
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Without the capital drag of legacy cloud infrastructure and some ridiculously aggressive moves to move at full speed in the AI race, my guess is that it’s just a matter of time before Meta Compute becomes the fastest, shiniest new racecar that’s driving in the AI race.
A powerful frontier AI innovator and new hyperscaler that’s going for a bargain As Meta looks to take control of the stack with its hardware initiatives while exploring the possibilities within the consumer and business realms with its profoundly powerful and rapidly advancing new model, I certainly wouldn’t want to bet against the firm while it’s down and out, trading for 18.6 times forward price-to-earnings (P/E) — a multiple that I believe vastly underestimates the company’s AI vision as well as the sheer aggression of Mark Zuckerberg.
With a powerful digital ads cash engine behind the firm and the potential for high-margin cloud growth to take things into overdrive, I certainly wouldn’t overlook Meta’s shares, even though there are more exciting things in the hyperscaler world to look to right now. Add the wild card of Muse Spark into the equation and the potential for deeper cuts to Reality Labs, an effort I’m sure Wall Street would applaud, and I see Meta as having very easy levers to pull to get its stock marching higher again.
Dismiss Muse Spark, if you will, but version 1.1 is a pretty big deal. It’s a powerful model with seriously impressive agentic capabilities, with benchmarks that suggest it’s not all too far from the very front of the pack. Meta made a statement with this release, and it’s going to be interesting to see how much better the next iteration will be as Meta’s Superintelligence Labs looks to win at any cost.
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of META, GOOGL either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Executives from America's largest artificial intelligence companies arrive at the White House on Tuesday to see, for the first time, how the government intends to inspect their most powerful models before release.
The staff-level meeting is being convened by the Office of the National Cyber Director and is expected to draw representatives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Alphabet Inc's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, XETRA:FB2A, SIX:FB).
On the table is a framework, now complete, that sets out how officials will assess whether frontier models can find and exploit software vulnerabilities.
The summit emanated from an executive order by Donald Trump signed on 2 June, and participation is voluntary. The presidential edict explicitly bars the process from being turned into a licensing, permitting or preclearance regime.
That said, developers could hand the government access to qualifying models for up to 30 days before releasing them to other trusted partners.
The Treasury, the National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were told to build a classified benchmarking process for the tests.
Expect few of the details to become public. Both the benchmarking methodology and the capability threshold that determines which models get caught are classified, and will be shared with developers only as officials see fit.
The bigger questions companies want answered are definitional. The administration has not said how it will define a frontier model, whether open-weight systems that users can download and modify will be covered, or which arm of government will actually run the review.
No single official or office has been designated to handle outreach to the industry, though national cyber director Sean Cairncross, Treasury secretary Scott Bessent and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick have been driving the initiative.
Firms with models already in the pipeline want to know quickly whether those releases will be subject to the new process.
The meeting follows a bruising few weeks for relations between Washington and the labs.
Export controls briefly curtailed Anthropic's release of Fable 5, and the administration later asked OpenAI to stagger the rollout of GPT-5.6 to a limited set of government-approved partners.
The security case has meanwhile been made for the government by the industry's own disclosures.
OpenAI revealed last month that an experimental agent escaped its restricted testing environment and compromised Hugging Face's systems while hunting for answers to a cybersecurity evaluation.
Anthropic withheld Mythos, a model capable of unearthing software vulnerabilities, from public release.
On 28 July, more than 1,100 employees of the four companies signed an open letter titled Pacing the Frontier, asking Washington to help build international tools for slowing frontier development if it outruns human oversight.
OpenAI and Anthropic endorsed it as companies within a day.
The Direxion Daily META Bull 2X ETF (NASDAQ:METU) is one of the most concentrated ways investors can bet on Mark Zuckerberg’s massive artificial intelligence spending. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) has committed tens of billions of dollars to AI infrastructure, data centers, custom silicon, and talent as it races to become one of the industry’s dominant AI leaders.
Investors who believe those investments will continue driving Meta’s share price higher may find METU appealing because it seeks to deliver twice the daily performance of the stock. That leverage can amplify gains during strong rallies, but it can also magnify losses and introduce risk that many investors underestimate. Understanding how METU works is just as important as having conviction in Meta’s AI strategy.
Zuckerberg’s Billion-Dollar AI Bet Meta is making one of the largest AI investments in corporate history. The company’s year-over-year CAPEX has grown 71.25%, with 2026 capital expenditure guidance in the range of $130 billion to $145 billion, up from approximately $72 billion in 2025. Most of that spending is being directed toward AI infrastructure, including data centers and computing capacity. Per the company’s filings, internal custom silicon efforts are aimed at both reducing dependency on Nvidia and improving long-term returns.
The market has remained skeptical. While the stock is up nearly 75% over three years, the stock is down approximately 30% over the past year, and down 15% year-to-date.
That said, as one of the members of the Magnificent Seven, many investors bet that AI will drive future advertising revenue, user engagement, and long-term earnings growth.
How METU’s Leverage Mechanics Work METU seeks to deliver 200% of Meta’s daily performance, before fees and expenses. If Meta rises 2% in a single trading day, METU is designed to gain approximately 4%. If Meta falls 2%, the fund is designed to lose roughly 4%.
To maintain that 2X target, the fund utilizes financial derivatives, including swaps and futures contracts. Leverage is reset at the end of every trading day. Over longer holding periods, the compounding from these daily leverage resets can cause returns to differ significantly from simply doubling Meta’s cumulative performance. As such, in volatile markets, those daily resets can erode returns even if Meta ultimately moves higher.
For that reason, METU is generally better suited for short-term traders with a strong conviction in Meta’s near-term direction than for long-term buy-and-hold investors.
Key Fund Statistics Before investing in any METU, investors need to understand the fund’s structure, costs, and objective. The following statistics provide a quick overview of METU and highlight several key characteristics that differentiate it from owning the underlying asset or traditional ETF.
Metric METU Underlying Asset Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Inception Date June 5, 2024 Investment Objective 200% of Meta’s daily return Rebalance Frequency Daily Net Assets $362.52M Expense Ratio 1.02% YTD Total Return -39.77% (Compared to -15.51% for META) 1-year Total Return -59.73% (Compared to -27.79% for META) Cumulative Return Since Fund Launch -25.14% (Compared to +13.32% for META) Max Historical Drawdown -63.90% Final Takeaway METU is ultimately a leveraged bet that Mark Zuckerberg’s AI strategy will deliver strong results. If Meta successfully converts its record AI spending into faster revenue growth, stronger earnings, and a higher share price, METU could amplify those gains for investors.
However, leverage cuts both ways. Because the fund resets its leveraged exposure daily, long-term returns can differ substantially from simply doubling Meta’s performance. For investors with a bullish near-term outlook on Meta, METU can be a powerful trading tool. For longer-term investors, owning Meta shares directly is likely the more appropriate choice.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
I think the primary reason everyone is talking about Meta (META +6.02%) is its valuation.
*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of July 31, 2026. The video was published on Aug.2, 2026.
Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Meta Platforms (META +6.02%) stock jumped 6.6% through 1:15 p.m. ET Monday after Morgan Stanley analysts reassured investors about the company's prospects amid record investment in AI infrastructure.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Meta Q2 earnings Meta disappointed investors last week, reporting only a $6.18 per share profit where analysts had expected $7.17 -- despite beating on revenue. Meta stock sold off after the report, so why is it bouncing back so quickly today?
Investors didn't like it when Meta confirmed plans to spend as much as $145 billion on capital investment this year, especially not after seeing Meta's investments take such a big bite out of profits in the quarter.
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What Morgan Stanley said about Meta's spending But Morgan Stanley says it's OK for Meta to keep spending -- because everyone else is... and it's paying off for them.
All four of the big AI hyperscalers are spending gobs of money on AI investment right now, with Alphabet (GOOG +4.44%) announcing plans to spend $195 billion to $205 billion, Amazon (AMZN +4.58%) a bit more at $220 billion from $200 billion, and Microsoft (MSFT +4.93%) a bit less at about $190 billion.
Total cloud capital expenditure could exceed $1.2 trillion in 2027, says MS. However, "strong operating cash flow, equity and debt financing, leasing strategies, custom chips, and infrastructure efficiencies are helping fund capex while easing free cash flow pressure." Indeed, despite all the spending, Meta has generated $41 billion in positive FCF over the past 12 months.
The bad news: By the end of this year, most analysts expect Meta's free cash flow will turn negative -- and remain negative through 2027, as cash burn accelerates. How long they can keep that up, and whether investors will forgive them for it, remains to be seen.
Rich Smith has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Meta Platforms Inc. (META, Financials), the social media and digital advertising company, could face higher costs in Australia under a revised government plan a
After a punishing July that shaved more than 15% off the stock, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META | META Price Prediction) is trading well below where our model says it should.
Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Meta is $780.93, implying 40.28% upside from the current $556.71 quote. That anchors a buy recommendation with a confidence level of 90%. Analyst consensus sits close to our number at $768.58, with 57 buy ratings against zero sells.
Metric Value Current Price $556.71 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $780.93 Upside 40.28% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% How Meta Ended Up in the Bargain Bin Meta closed July at $556.71, down 9.17% for the month and 15.52% year to date.
Q2 revenue of $60.80 billion grew 27.96% and topped the Street, but EPS of $6.18 missed expectations of $7.22, snapping a six-quarter beat streak. A $2.40 billion legal charge and $1.18 billion in severance tied to an 8,000-employee reduction drove the miss. Free cash flow collapsed to $784 million, and FY2026 capex guidance narrowed to $130 to $145 billion.
Why Bulls See a Breakout Ahead The core ad engine is sound. Ad impressions grew 14% and price per ad grew 12% in Q2, with advertising revenue up 27% to $59.36 billion. Family daily active people reached 3.60 billion. Q3 guidance of $61 to $64 billion implies further acceleration.
Morningstar maintains a $850 fair value estimate, arguing the sell-off is an overreaction. Our bull scenario points to $864.25 over 12 months if AI monetization accelerates and the Meta Business Agent launched August 1 gains traction with enterprise advertisers.
What Could Go Wrong Capex intensity is the real risk. FY2026 spending of $130 to $145 billion nearly doubles the $72.22 billion spent in 2025, and operating margin compressed to 31% from 43% from a year ago. Bears worry Meta is spending without defined returns.
Bulls counter that margin compression reflects one-time legal and severance items totaling $3.58 billion, and BlackRock joint ventures are keeping data center assets off the balance sheet. Our bear case still lands at $686.99, well above today’s price.
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How Meta Compares to Alphabet and Pinterest Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is the sharpest comp: same ad model, same AI capex arms race. It trades at a P/E of 16 versus Meta at 20, with Q2 2026 revenue growth of 24.23% and Google Cloud accelerating to 82% growth. Alphabet is rewarded for visible AI monetization while Meta is punished for opacity. That gap looks overdone.
Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) is the pure-play visual-ad counterpoint at a $11.57 billion market cap. Q1 2026 revenue grew 17.8% to $1.01 billion with 631 million monthly users, but carries no AI infrastructure liability or legal overhang. The contrast highlights why Meta’s fear discount is a scale problem tied to capex magnitude rather than fundamental business weakness.
Company Trailing P/E Latest Revenue Growth Meta 20 27.96% Alphabet 16 24.23% Pinterest n/a 17.84% I’d Buy the Pullback Our 24/7 Wall St. price target of $780.93 stands, buy rating intact, confidence at 90%. Ad fundamentals are accelerating, one-time charges obscured the quarter, and even the bear case sits 23% above today’s price.
The setup favors investors who can stomach capex-driven volatility into 2027. Caution is warranted if Q3 revenue lands below the $61 billion guidance floor, which would signal the ad engine is faltering as spending peaks.
Meta Price Prediction 2026-2030 Here is where our model projects Meta could trade, assuming current growth trajectories and disciplined AI monetization.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $780 2027 $900 2028 $1,050 2029 $1,225 2030 $1,431 These projections assume Meta executes on its AI-powered ad platform and Reality Labs losses stabilize. Significant upside could come from enterprise AI monetization; the biggest downside risk remains unchecked capex without a visible ROI window.
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of META either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Have you looked into how Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) performed internationally during the quarter ending June 2026? Considering the widespread global presence of this social media company, examining the trends in international revenues is essential for assessing its financial resilience and prospects for growth.
In the current era of a tightly interconnected global economy, the proficiency of a company to penetrate international markets significantly influences its financial health and trajectory of growth. For investors, the key is to grasp how reliant a company is on overseas markets, as this provides insights into the durability of its earnings, its ability to exploit different economic cycles, and its overall growth capabilities.
Being present in international markets serves as a counterbalance to domestic economic challenges while offering chances to engage with more rapidly evolving economies. However, this kind of diversification introduces challenges like currency fluctuations, geopolitical uncertainties and varying market trends.
While analyzing META's performance for the last quarter, we found some intriguing trends in revenues from its overseas segments that Wall Street analysts commonly model and monitor.
The company's total revenue for the quarter amounted to $60.8 billion, marking an increase of 28% from the year-ago quarter. We will next turn our attention to dissecting META's international revenue to get a clearer picture of how significant its operations are outside its main base.
A Look into META's International Revenue StreamsOf the total revenue, $14.01 billion came from Europe during the last fiscal quarter, accounting for 23%. This represented a surprise of -1.65% as analysts had expected the region to contribute $14.24 billion to the total revenue. In comparison, the region contributed $13.24 billion, or 23.5%, and $11.13 billion, or 23.4%, to total revenue in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.
During the quarter, Asia-Pacific contributed $16.07 billion in revenue, making up 26.4% of the total revenue. When compared to the consensus estimate of $16.07 billion, this meant a surprise of +0%. Looking back, Asia-Pacific contributed $15.45 billion, or 27.4%, in the previous quarter, and $12.86 billion, or 27.1%, in the same quarter of the previous year.
Rest of the world generated $6.86 billion in revenues for the company in the last quarter, constituting 11.3% of the total. This represented a surprise of -4.41% compared to the $7.17 billion projected by Wall Street analysts. Comparatively, in the previous quarter, Rest of the world accounted for $6.36 billion (11.3%), and in the year-ago quarter, it contributed $5.08 billion (10.7%) to the total revenue.
Anticipated Revenues in Overseas MarketsIt is projected by analysts on Wall Street that Meta Platforms will post revenues of $62.85 billion for the ongoing fiscal quarter, an increase of 22.7% from the year-ago quarter. The expected contributions from Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the world to this revenue are 23.2%, 26.9%, and 11.8%, translating into $14.57 billion, $16.88 billion, and $7.44 billion, respectively.
For the entire year, the company's total revenue is forecasted to be $253.71 billion, which is an improvement of 26.3% from the previous year. The revenue contributions from different regions are expected as follows: Europe will contribute 23.5% ($59.73 billion), Asia-Pacific 26.1% ($66.12 billion) and Rest of the world 11.6% ($29.44 billion) to the total revenue.
Concluding RemarksMeta Platforms' reliance on international markets for revenues offers both opportunities and risks. Hence, keeping an eye on its international revenue trends could significantly help forecast the company's prospects.
In an era of growing international interdependencies and escalating geopolitical disputes, Wall Street analysts are vigilant in tracking these trends for businesses with a global reach, in order to refine their predictions of earnings. It should be noted, however, that a multitude of other elements, such as a company's domestic position, also play a significant role in shaping the earnings forecasts.
We at Zacks strongly focus on the dynamic earnings forecast of companies, given that empirical studies have demonstrated its potent impact on the immediate price movement of stocks. Invariably, there's a positive relationship -- upward earnings predictions often result in an increase in stock prices.
The Zacks Rank, our proprietary stock rating tool, comes with an externally validated impressive track record. It effectively utilizes shifts in earnings projections to act as a dependable barometer for forecasting short-term stock price trends.
Meta Platforms currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
Examining the Latest Trends in Meta Platforms' Stock ValueThe stock has witnessed a decline of 4.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's an increase of 0.2%. In the same interval, the Zacks Computer and Technology sector, to which Meta Platforms belongs, has registered a decrease of 5.8%. Over the past three months, the company's shares saw a decrease of 8.7%, while the S&P 500 increased by 4.2%. In comparison, the sector experienced an increase of 1.6% during this timeframe.
Among Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction), Meta, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), the stock a Buffett-style investor would most likely act on today is Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and at $556.71 it screens as the most attractive of the three on Buffett's criteria.
Excitement around Meta Platforms (META +6.40%) has been fading fast. Despite its efforts to be a top name in artificial intelligence (AI) and its heavy investment in superintelligence, investors aren't convinced it's a good buy right now due to its heavy spending. To make matters worse, it's facing daunting lawsuits over its practices.
There's risk with the stock, but this is still a business with highly valuable social media assets, including Instagram and Facebook, that attract billions of monthly active users. Plus, with strong profits and a valuation that looks a bit more modest of late, there could be a strong case for buying the stock these days. Could Meta Platforms stock be a great buy while it's trading below $600?
Image source: Getty Images.
Has Meta Platforms become too risky an investment? Concerns about Meta Platforms and its overall governance are not new issues for the business. Facebook has long faced problems with users spreading misinformation on its platform, and there have also been concerns about children spending too much time on the company's social media apps.
The difference, however, is that those cries are growing louder and lawsuits are emerging. Multiple states are now seeking penalties totaling as much as $1.4 trillion due to the company's addictive social media platforms and the dangers they pose to children. While that would undeniably cripple the business, it doesn't mean any punishment would be so significant.
But with more of a spotlight on child safety on social media these days, it's a risk investors can't gloss over anymore. In addition to the potential fallout from penalties resulting from social media lawsuits, there may also be significant changes in practices that could impact the business over the long term.
Given the uncertainty, a discount is likely warranted for the tech giant's stock.
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Is Meta's stock too cheap to pass up right now? Year to date, Meta's stock has fallen by 12%, and it now trades at 22 times its trailing earnings, which looks cheap compared to the S&P 500, where the average stock trades at 25 times its profit. Meta, with a much lower valuation, could be a compelling option.
However, I'd hold off on buying it because the issues it's facing today could impact its business significantly in the long run, and while it's trading at a reduced valuation, it may still not be low enough to compensate investors for the risk and uncertainty ahead for Meta. Taking a wait-and-see approach may be ideal.
Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,992 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 9,687 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.7% of Glenmede Trust Co. NA’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Glenmede Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $152,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total transaction of $508,770.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,823,376.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,034,051. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages recently commented on META. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $789.95.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on META
Key Meta Platforms News Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong. Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while ad impressions, pricing, engagement and AI-powered recommendation tools continued to improve. Advantage+ advertising reportedly reached a $75 billion annualized run rate. Meta: Buy The AI Spending Panic Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and investment commentators view the selloff as an opportunity, arguing that Meta’s advertising engine can fund its AI investments and that AI is already improving ad performance, personalization and user engagement. Meta also highlighted potential enterprise AI products, personal AI agents and new applications. Buy Meta’s Earnings Drop Positive Sentiment: Despite reductions, major firms retained bullish ratings and price targets, including UBS at $715, Baird at $750, Cantor Fitzgerald at $680 and Rosenblatt at $883. The targets imply substantial long-term upside if Meta converts AI spending into monetization. Meta Given New Price Target at Baird Neutral Sentiment: The earnings miss was partly affected by approximately $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.2 billion in severance costs. Excluding these items, supporters argue that underlying profitability was healthier, but reported margins still declined. Negative Sentiment: Meta reported $6.18 in quarterly EPS, below expectations near $7.19, while free cash flow fell to only $784 million from $31.9 billion in operating cash flow as AI data-center capital expenditures surged. Investors remain unconvinced that the spending will generate adequate returns soon. Tech’s AI Buildout Has Ballooning Price Tag Negative Sentiment: Future AI-related lease obligations reached $279 billion, increasing concerns about balance-sheet commitments and execution risk. Additional legal and regulatory pressure includes a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that social-media companies harmed minors, plus an Indian police case involving Meta’s India chief over Facebook posts depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meta’s AI Splurge Lays Bare Its Compute Conundrum Meta Platforms Price Performance Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $556.71 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $601.16 and a 200 day moving average of $622.84. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.99 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.
Meta Platforms Profile (Free Report)
Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.
Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.
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The U.S. is home to 11 publicly listed companies with market capitalizations of $1 trillion or more, but only Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft are currently worth more than $3 trillion.
I think Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) could join that ultra-exclusive club within the next few years as artificial intelligence (AI) transforms its social media platforms and unlocks new revenue streams. The company is currently worth $1.4 trillion as I write this, so investors who buy its stock today could more than double their money if its market cap does rise to $3 trillion.
Image source: Getty Images.
AI is transforming Meta's family of apps During the second quarter of 2026 (ended June 30), 3.6 billion people were using at least one of Meta's Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp social media platforms every day. Since there are only 8.3 billion people on Earth and the company's apps are blocked in populous countries like China, it's getting harder to find new users.
As a result, Meta is trying to boost engagement instead. If each existing user spends more time online, they will see more ads, and the company will make more money. To achieve this, Meta is embedding AI into its recommendation algorithms to show users more of the content they enjoy viewing on Facebook and Instagram. These algorithms will only get more accurate as AI learns and evolves over time.
Meta also offers a growing portfolio of AI-powered creative tools to help businesses craft the most engaging ads. When ads convert more prospects into paying customers, Meta can charge more per slot, so this is another way to generate additional revenue without acquiring new users. The company is also experimenting with AI business agents on WhatsApp and Instagram, which can handle incoming customer inquiries at all hours of the day. This could be another tool that drives more sales for Meta's business customers.
But Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks AI agents will eventually play a central role in the overall social media experience. The company is developing personal agents that will help users improve every aspect of their lives, from their health to their finances. This might be an opportunity to take traffic from other platforms, such as Google, when users want advice on a certain topic, which could significantly boost engagement.
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Meta's revenue is growing rapidly, but AI spending is impacting its earnings Meta generated $60.8 billion in revenue during the second quarter, a 28% increase from the year-ago period. While that was a great result, Wall Street was more focused on the company's bottom line.
Meta spent $72 billion on building AI data center infrastructure last year, but that figure could double to $145 billion in 2026 based on management's latest guidance. The company can't deduct these costs up front because data centers have a useful life of several years, so it depreciates the infrastructure over time instead. That means capital expenditures in 2025 could impact Meta's earnings power in 2026, 2027, 2028, and even beyond.
The effects are starting to show up. Meta's total operating expenses jumped by 55% to $42 billion during the second quarter, driven primarily by higher depreciation and data center operating costs. This caused the company's earnings to decline by 13% to $6.18 per share.
This could become a major concern on Wall Street if Meta's data center spending doesn't produce returns. The prospect of soaring capital expenditures and lower earnings will affect the price investors are willing to pay for the stock, which is a risk to keep in mind.
Meta has a mathematical path to the $3 trillion club Despite Meta's rising costs, it has still generated earnings of $26.55 per share over the last four quarters, placing its stock at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.9. The Nasdaq-100 index has a P/E ratio of 32.6, so Meta looks undervalued compared to a group of its big-tech peers.
Moreover, Wall Street still believes Meta will grow its earnings to $34.10 per share in 2027, placing its stock at a forward P/E ratio of just 15.75.
META PE Ratio data by YCharts
That suggests Meta stock would have to soar 107% by the end of next year just to match the P/E ratio of the Nasdaq-100, which is possible given its P/E was over 30 for a big portion of the last decade. That alone would give the company a market capitalization of $2.9 trillion, so even modest earnings growth in 2028 would be enough to justify admission into the $3 trillion club.
There is no guarantee Meta's P/E will rise to 32.6, but I think there are two ways it could get there. First, the company could show an incredible return on investment on its AI spending in the form of higher in-app engagement and soaring advertising revenue. Second, it could pull back on its AI spending to prop up its earnings. It chose the latter option in 2022 when shareholders felt Mark Zuckerberg was burning too much money on the metaverse, which eventually resulted in a P/E ratio of over 35.
But even if Meta doesn't join the $3 trillion club by 2028, I think it's one of the most likely candidates to get there in the long run.
Shares of Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) fell sharply after the company missed earnings estimates in the second quarter. Revenue beat expectations, up 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, but adjusted earnings per share of $6.18 missed consensus by 15% due to heavy infrastructure spending and other costs.
Still, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees a major opportunity in selling excess data center capacity to other companies. At the May 2026 annual shareholder meeting, he said this is "definitely on the table," and he returned to the idea on the latest earnings call.
So how much revenue could this new business generate over time? The clues are hiding in plain sight.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Meta's cloud opportunity On the second-quarter earnings call, Zuckerberg outlined a large opportunity to sell capacity to other businesses. The Meta Compute initiative has already landed a 1-gigawatt data center venture with BlackRock in Texas as it continues a massive build-out of compute capacity to power its platforms, advertising, and new products.
Meta ended the quarter with $226 billion in net property and equipment, including the cost of data centers. Management expects 2026 capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion, which will further expand its property and equipment base.
That scale matters because it hints at what this build-out could be worth if Meta sells it as a cloud service. Zuckerberg said the company is "getting a lot of offers for compute at a significant premium over what we paid for it."
Meta has historically generated high returns on invested capital. The offers coming in above cost suggest it could still earn strong returns on its data center investments. Even selling a small portion of capacity could translate into tens of billions in revenue in the years ahead.
Put in context, that could position Meta just behind Alphabet's Google Cloud, which generated $99 billion in annualized revenue last quarter, while still trailing the leaders: Microsoft and Amazon, both at more than $100 billion in annualized revenue.
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What does this mean for investors? Of course, the cloud market is fiercely competitive. There's no guarantee Meta can match Google's end-to-end stack of chips, software, and AI models. But given what it's building, it's reasonable to think Meta's compute could land in the tens of billions, trailing Google Cloud in market share. It would still be a fairly small portion of Meta's trailing-12-month revenue of $214 billion, but it could become a larger contributor over time.
The top four hyperscalers are expected to spend up to $700 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, according to The Motley Fool's research. Goldman Sachs estimates hyperscalers will invest more than $5 trillion in technology and data centers by 2030.
If Meta can successfully monetize its computing capacity, it could unlock a growing revenue stream that diversifies the business beyond advertising. That, in turn, could support a higher valuation than the stock's current, modest 17 times forward earnings.
John Ballard has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Group, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) released its second-quarter earnings report on July 29. The company's financial results weren't bad, at least as long as we stop at the top line. Meta's revenue grew by 28% year over year to $60.8 billion. But the tech leader's earnings per share dropped 13% year over year to $6.18, while its free cash flow came in at $784 million, down almost 91% from the year-ago period.
Meta Platforms is pouring a small fortune into its artificial intelligence (AI)-related ambitions, and it is impacting its margins and bottom line. It's no wonder that many people are running for the exit. However, recent comments from Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, should give investors some confidence that the company might eventually reap the benefits of these investments.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Meta Platforms' cloud business is in the works There have been reports in recent weeks suggesting that Meta Platforms is planning to rent out excess AI computing capacity to other data centers. Although it seems like a promising business endeavor, investors naturally had many questions. Here is just one of them: Can Meta Platforms successfully join the crowded cloud computing market and actually challenge the leaders in the niche, including the likes of Amazon (AMZN +15.32%), Microsoft (MSFT +3.02%), and Alphabet (GOOG +6.88%) (GOOGL +6.73%)? During the company's second-quarter earnings conference call, Zuckerberg addressed this concern, at least to some extent. Talking about the opportunity to sell computing capacity, he said:
We're getting a lot of offers for compute at a significant premium over what we paid for it.
These aren't unsubstantiated claims either. Meta Platforms is reportedly in early talks to rent out AI computing power to Anthropic, a privately held company and a leader in developing large language models. The deal is far from done, but the fact that it is in the works at all tells us something: Meta Platforms is exploring launching a cloud computing business because it sees demand for the kinds of services it hopes to provide.
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If the company can move forward with these plans, it may help justify the significant investments it is making in AI. This business could be a powerful growth driver over the medium term. According to some estimates, AI infrastructure spending will exceed $1 trillion by 2029, up from just $318 billion last year. Some of this spending will flow right into the kinds of services Meta Platforms wants to offer.
What does all this mean for the stock? Meta's core advertising business remains strong and continues to improve thanks to AI. The company also boasts a deep ecosystem, with 3.60 billion daily active users across its websites and apps, providing significant monetization opportunities. The tech giant's proposed cloud business could further boost sales and accelerate earnings growth. Since much of the investment has already been made, it would almost certainly lift the company's margins. This new growth opportunity is another reason investors should consider buying the stock on the dip.
Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
For the second straight time this year, Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) stock was slammed after the social media giant reported its quarterly earnings. The culprit this time appears to be a combination of missing earnings per share (EPS) expectations (which is not really the case) and, once again, an increase in its capital expenditures (capex) budget.
Capex continues to be a big focus for investors, as they worry about the returns large tech companies will get from their massive spending. Meta now expects 2026 capex of between $130 billion and $145 billion, upping the lower range of its prior $125 billion to $145 billion guidance.
The company declined to give a 2027 capex forecast when asked but said it plans to maximize capacity this year and next. This likely means it is going higher next year. Does the market's recent worries about Meta's spending spell opportunity for long-term-minded investors?
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Strong revenue growth continues Despite the sell-off in the stock, Meta's core business continues to perform very well. Its Q2 revenue jumped 28% year over year to $60.8 billion. EPS fell by 13% to $6.18. Analysts were looking for an EPS of $7.22 on revenue of $60.17 billion, as compiled by LSEG.
Notably, Meta's reported EPS included $2.4 billion in legal costs and nearly $1.2 billion in severance costs, which are typically excluded from adjusted EPS. Excluding those charges and applying the company's effective tax rate, its adjusted EPS would have been $7.35, topping analyst estimates.
Meta's advertising revenue climbed 27% to $59.4 billion, while other revenue nearly doubled to $1 billion. Revenue at Reality Labs, which is home to Meta's metaverse and its augmented reality headsets and smart glasses, rose 16% year over year to $431 million. Operating income from its social media apps fell by 1% to $23.4 billion, while Reality Labs posted a loss of $4.6 billion versus $4.5 billion a year ago. Excluding charges, overall operating income would have risen 9%.
Meta's advertising growth was fueled by a 14% rise in ad impressions and a 12% increase in average ad price. The growth is being driven by the use of AI within its ad system, as its Meta Generative Recommender improves its understanding of ad content and better predicts user preferences. This leads to more precise ad matching and better conversion. Over 9 million small businesses have adopted at least one generative AI creative tool, while its AI-powered Advantage+ end-to-end solution has grown to an annual recurring revenue run rate of over $75 billion.
Despite its huge user base, Meta also continues to see solid growth in this area. Family Daily Active People (DAP), a metric measuring registered users who log in to one of Meta's apps daily, rose 3.5% year over year to 3.6 billion.
While Meta is seeing strong revenue growth, its expenses rose even faster. Overall expenses surged 55% to $42 billion. Excluding charges, expenses would have been up 42%. Despite heavy capex and rising expenses, Meta still managed to generate $784 million in free cash flow. It has also generated $13.2 billion in free cash flow through the first half of the year.
Looking ahead, Meta forecasts Q3 revenue between $61 billion and $64 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 19% to 25%. Analysts were looking for Q3 revenue of $63.2 billion.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Is it time to buy the dip? Don't let the fall in the stock price and headline EPS numbers fool you -- Meta turned in a solid quarter. The company continues to use AI to drive strong growth in its core business, demonstrating that its AI spending is paying off. If a company can get a strong return on its investments, they should make them, and that is what Meta is doing with AI. Meanwhile, a move to cloud computing would give Meta added flexibility in compute power.
One frustrating thing about Meta is that Reality Labs continues to burn cash, with no clear path to when these investments will ever pay off. Hopefully, with the closure of its virtual reality metaverse Horizon Worlds in June, these losses will become much smaller in the future.
Following its sell-off, the stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just above 14 based on 2027 analyst estimates. Meta is not perfect, but given its growth and valuation, this is a top AI stock to buy on this dip.
Wall Street just called Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) a top large-cap buy heading into the back half of 2026, and our model agrees.
Meta trades at $556.71 after shares fell 15.52% year to date and 27.79% over the past year. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target is $799.31, implying 43.58% upside over 12 months. This is a buy.
24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $556.71 24/7 Wall St. Price Target $799.31 Upside 43.58% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 90% (High) The setup is straightforward: a mega-cap advertising engine growing revenue nearly 28% year over year got repriced hard on a single messy quarter. That gap is our opportunity.
Why Meta Sold Off Into the Buy Call The pain traces to Q2 2026 results filed July 29. Revenue landed at $60.80 billion, beating consensus and growing 27.96% year over year, but diluted EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.22 estimate by 14.42%, snapping a six-quarter beat streak.
Operating margin compressed to 31% from 43% as Meta absorbed $2.40 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion in severance tied to an 8,000-employee headcount cut. Free cash flow fell to $784 million against capex of $30.12 billion.
The stock fell 6.47% in the week ended July 31 before bouncing 3.28% that Friday on analyst upgrades. Shares now sit against a 52-week range of $519.78 to $793.65, closer to the low than the high.
The Case for $866 Bulls argue the Q2 miss reflects cyclical pressures that will fade. Advertising revenue grew 27% to $59.36 billion, with ad impressions up 14% and price per ad up 12%. Family of Apps daily active people hit 3.60 billion. Zuckerberg stated: “AI is accelerating our core business today, powering our next generation of products, and opening the door to entirely new enterprise opportunities.”
Wall Street consensus sits at $824.68, with 57 buy or strong-buy ratings against zero sells. A $14 billion AI data-center joint venture with BlackRock and the upcoming paid Meta Business Agent open new monetization lanes. Our bull case tops $866, roughly 55% upside.
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What Could Go Wrong The bear case hinges on capex intensity. Meta guided FY2026 capital expenditures to $130 to $145 billion, nearly doubling from 2025’s level. If AI monetization lags, FCF pressure persists. Management flagged that youth-related U.S. trials scheduled for 2026 may result in material losses.
Our bear case points to $699.86, or 25.71% upside, because the ad engine keeps compounding. Q2’s margin hit was concentrated in one-time legal and severance charges.
How Meta Compares to Alphabet and Pinterest Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is the cleanest read on digital advertising and AI-scaler valuation. Alphabet trades at a P/E of 16 after posting Q2 2026 revenue of $119.80 billion, up 24.2% year over year, with Google Cloud accelerating to 82% growth. Meta’s trailing P/E of 21 and forward P/E of 19 carry a modest premium, justified by Meta’s higher ad-price growth and pure-play exposure.
Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) offers a small-cap counterpoint. Pinterest grew Q1 2026 revenue 17.8% to $1.01 billion with 631 million monthly active users, roughly a sixth of Meta’s DAP base. The comparison shows why Meta’s scale advantage keeps our $799.31 target grounded.
Meta Price Prediction 2026-2030 Our 24/7 Wall St. price target of $799.31 is a buy with 90% confidence. A repriced ad platform still growing ad revenue 27% at a forward P/E of 19 is rare.
The bull thesis holds as long as Q3 revenue lands inside the $61 to $64 billion guide. The thesis weakens if FY2026 capex drifts above the $145 billion ceiling without matching AI monetization signals.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $650 2027 $870 2028 $1,080 2029 $1,290 2030 $1,470 These projections assume Meta executes on AI monetization and defends ad share. Upside could come from enterprise AI traction, while regulatory losses from pending youth-related trials remain the most credible downside catalyst.
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Shares of Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) are down about 16% year to date as investors focus on the near-term cost of accelerating capital spending for artificial intelligence (AI).
Even after an 18% year-over-year decline in trailing-12-month free cash flow, CEO Mark Zuckerberg is sticking with an aggressive AI compute build-out. "As AI usage in our products and businesses continues to ramp, we continue to invest aggressively in infrastructure to meet the demand," he said during the recent earnings call.
At roughly 18 times forward earnings estimates, the valuation looks attractive. But for the stock to deliver meaningful upside, investors should track whether AI-driven spend is translating into measurable returns, such as stronger ad pricing and higher user engagement. The company may also have opportunities outside its core business to monetize this spending.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
AI has made a big impact on advertising Meta's core ad business is humming. In the second quarter, revenue from its family of apps climbed 27% year over year to $59 billion. The global average price per ad rose 12%, a sign that AI tools are improving performance for advertisers -- and giving Meta more pricing power.
Engagement is trending the right way, too. Instagram saw double-digit growth in time spent on the app, while Facebook saw time spent increase 9% worldwide.
Meta also highlighted momentum for its AI assistant, with daily interactions in Meta AI up 60% after the integration of its flagship Muse Spark model.
So far, strong revenue growth is validating Zuckerberg's move to double down on compute. The key question for investors is whether those trends hold as capital spending stays elevated.
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Short-term pain for long-term gain Through its Meta Compute initiative, the company announced a new 1-gigawatt data center with BlackRock aimed at training internal models, supporting ad growth, and enabling personalized agents and new products.
Data centers and chips seem to only be getting more expensive. Second-quarter capital expenditures (capex) hit $30 billion, nearly wiping out free cash flow, which totaled just $1.7 billion. Management's full-year guidance calls for capex of $130 billion to $145 billion.
But CFO Susan Li shared an important perspective about the pace of spending that probably doesn't get enough attention from investors: "The industry has under-built historically for the wave of AI adoption, making existing capacity, including our own, extremely valuable."
Meta isn't just building for today's demand -- it's trying to lock in compute capacity that can power AI features for years. That's classic short-term pain for long-term gain.
There's still a risk of overbuilding, but Meta may have a lucrative backup plan. Zuckerberg noted that the company is already seeing strong interest from other businesses in using its compute -- and at prices well above Meta's cost.
If Meta can monetize that capacity through its ad engine -- and potentially via third-party demand -- the market may be underestimating the long-term revenue and earnings from these investments. At this valuation, Meta's stock is worth considering.
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Picture a 59-year-old who spent three decades in a warehouse job that ended with a layoff notice this spring. He is too young for Medicare, too young for Social Security, and too unsettled to sit at home. Then he sees a news report about America’s Workforce Academy, a $115 million first-year investment from Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) and its partners.
The cost-free program combines career-readiness and safety instruction with five weeks of hands-on training. Qualified applicants receive tuition, travel, housing, and living stipends, and graduates are guaranteed a full-time job offer from a contractor working on Meta’s data-center buildout. Training begins in Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, and Texas.
The headline is a paycheck. The calmer, more valuable prize is what those wages might let him do with Social Security.
The Real Payoff Is Time, Not the Trade Itself He could file for Social Security the moment he turns 62. Plenty of people do. On a recent forum thread, a laid-off electrician near that age asked whether he should claim early and be done with it. The math shows why waiting deserves a serious look.
Claiming at 62 instead of a full retirement age (FRA) of 67 permanently cuts the monthly check by roughly 30%. Waiting past 67 works in the opposite direction, adding about 8% per year until age 70.
Turn that into dollars. Suppose his benefit at 67 would be $2,000 a month. Claiming at 62 drops it to roughly $1,400. Waiting until 70 pushes it to about $2,480. That is a difference of more than $1,000 every month, indexed to inflation, for the rest of his life. Social Security credits COLAs even before benefits begin, and the larger delayed check becomes the base for future increases. The 2026 COLA was 2.8%.
The academy job is what could make waiting possible. The program itself does not bankroll the eight years from 59 to 67. It supplies the training, a portable credential, and the first job offer. If that opening leads to steady trade work, the wages can keep him from claiming early out of desperation.
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There is a secondary benefit. Social Security calculates benefits from a worker’s 35 highest-earning years. If any of those slots contain low or zero-earning years, new trade wages can push them out and lift the eventual benefit. Useful, but probably smaller than the claiming-age effect.
How the Paycheck Fits the Rest of the Picture One important number is missing from the announcement: the paycheck itself. Meta has not disclosed wage rates, participating contractors, or whether the jobs will be unionized. The offer letter, not a national wage average, will determine whether this becomes a workable retirement bridge.
If the take-home pay covers his bills, his 401(k) or IRA can remain untouched. Every year the account stays invested gives it more time to grow and lowers the odds that he will have to sell during a bad market. Between a potentially larger Social Security check and more savings left at 67, time starts working in his favor twice.
Two qualifiers matter. First, graduates are offered jobs with contractors building Meta projects, not permanent employment at Meta. Data-center construction can create a hiring boom while a facility is being built, then require far fewer workers once it opens. The credential may travel to another employer; the original job may not.
Second, starting a physically demanding trade at nearly 60 will not suit everyone. Health, stamina, and the wear already accumulated over three warehouse decades belong in the calculation.
What to Think Through Before Signing Up Two questions carry most of the weight:
Price the bridge using the actual offer. Look at wages, benefits, commuting costs, and likely job duration. A guaranteed first offer is valuable, but it does not guarantee an uninterrupted paycheck through age 67. Run the Social Security numbers at 62, 67, and 70. Starting early permanently reduces the monthly amount. A claim can generally be withdrawn only within 12 months, requires repayment of benefits received, and can be withdrawn only once. If the program fits his health, location, and family situation, the training stipend is welcome and the contractor paycheck is better. The Social Security check waiting on the other side may be the prize that lasts.
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Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) has been parrying some of its year-to-date losses, even as investors expected more from the company's second-quarter results. Sharp pessimism in the stock has resulted in a valuation that is difficult to ignore.
Facebook's parent company currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17, which is below its five-year average. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow Meta Platforms shareholders stand to see their wealth grow over time as more people recognize the opportunity.
Image source: Getty Images.
Discussing recent earnings Meta Platforms continues to gain market share in the online advertising industry while maintaining high margins. Revenue was up 28% year over year, while net income dipped 14% year over year; the company still closed out the quarter with a 26% net profit margin.
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Meta Platforms has a vast customer base that knows no equal. It has 3.6 billion daily active users across its social media platforms, up 3% year over year. This user base can make it easier for Meta Platforms to launch new products and services and make them mainstream.
AI glasses and models can introduce new revenue streams, so Meta Platforms isn't completely dependent on advertising. The company also teased a neocloud segment that remains in early development.
The company is still losing money from its AI efforts. Reality Labs had a $4.6 billion net operating loss in Q2. Its revenue came in at $431 million, up 16.5% year over year.
Explaining the disconnect It's not every day that Meta Platforms trades at a forward P/E ratio that is below its five-year average of 24.5. Savvy investors are loading up at current levels, but why is there such a disconnect in the first place?
Capital expenditures are the main answer. Investors have become increasingly skeptical of rising costs related to the AI build-out. Meta Platforms expects to incur between $130 billion and $145 billion in capital expenditures this year. That's a slight increase from the $125 billion to $145 billion range Meta Platforms suggested earlier in the year.
Investors eventually want to see a return on all of that capital. While it has helped with online advertising revenue, Meta Platforms is still looking to translate new ventures into meaningful revenue growth opportunities.
Investors have been moving away from hyperscalers as a whole, not just Meta Platforms. Several members of the Magnificent Seven have compelling valuations and continue to improve their fundamentals even as their stock prices go down. Meta Platforms belongs in that category, and as long as sentiment remains negative, it will give long-term investors an opportunity to buy at a discount.
Marc Guberti has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
As of this writing, which is after the market closed on July 29, shares of Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) have fallen 10%. Earnings in Q2 (ended June 30) came in below estimates, while third-quarter revenue guidance was weaker than expected.
This extends the social media stock's losing streak. It's trading 26% below its all-time high from August 2025.
The market's attention in recent quarters has been directed to spending trends. Meta raised the lower end of its guidance for 2026 capital expenditures (capex) to $130 billion from $125 billion. But the upper end, $145 billion, was kept unchanged.
The business is betting it all on artificial intelligence (AI). Here's what investors need to know.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Profits are under pressure During the second quarter, Meta reported operating income of $18.8 billion. This figure declined 8% year over year. That's because costs and expenses surged 55%. The gain is mostly coming from research and development, which exploded 68%.
Free cash flow (FCF) went from $8.5 billion in Q2 2025 to $784 million in the most recent quarter. Like the other hyperscalers, Meta is in the middle of a major capex super cycle. It's sparing no expense. The consensus view among analysts is that FCF will be negative in 2026 and 2027.
For what was such a wildly profitable business historically, this is a new normal that investors must get used to.
Meta's balance sheet is also not as robust as it once was. Its long-term debt of $83.7 billion is up from $58.7 billion at the end of last year. At the same time, cash and cash equivalents shrunk 57%.
There were also no share repurchases in the first six months of 2026.
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It all comes down to monetizing AI Investors received more color on Meta's plan to sell excess technical capacity to third-party customers. "We have quite a number of offers at a meaningful premium over what we paid for the compute," Zuckerberg said on the Q2 2026 earnings call. Because the industry is constrained on the supply side, the business can quickly generate revenue by offering its resources to the market.
But I think what matters most to Meta right now is how AI investments upgrade its core operations. "They're improving the experience for people using our apps, driving better performance for advertisers, and helping our teams build new experiences and ship faster," Zuckerberg added on the call.
Revenue grew 28% in Q2, an impressive figure for a company of this size. Both ad impressions and pricing jumped by double digits. And Meta's family of apps ended the quarter with 3.6 billion daily active users.
With up to $145 billion in capex on the line this year, investors should have high expectations, hoping the strong momentum continues. The stock's performance depends on the business delivering adequate returns from its AI efforts.
Mark Mahaney, an Evercore analyst, called Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) his top large-cap long idea on July 22. He believes advertising demand and ad improvements driven by artificial intelligence (AI) will drive continued revenue growth, and that the company is undervalued currently.
One week later, Meta released an underwhelming earnings report, and its share price dropped about 10% in a single day. Mahaney reiterated that he expects the stock to outperform, but he lowered his price target from $930 to $820.
Is the social media giant an undervalued megacap or a value trap? Let's take a closer look at why Mahaney likes it and whether his thesis still holds.
Image source: Getty Images.
Meta looks like a bargain At a glance, Meta stock has a lot to offer. Its social media platforms averaged 3.6 billion daily active users across its brands in June 2026, one of the largest user bases among tech companies.
Despite its entrenched position, it's still delivering double-digit growth. Revenue was up 28% year over year to $60.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026, and ad impressions increased 14% year over year.
The growth is there, it has a dominant market position, and it trades at just 20 times trailing earnings and 17 times forward earnings. By those metrics, it's the second-cheapest stock among the "Magnificent Seven" tech companies, with Alphabet the only one trading at lower multiples. However, the highlights don't tell the whole story.
Why investors are worried The primary concern with Meta is its huge AI spending. The company's costs and expenses jumped 55% year over year to $42 billion in the second quarter, contributing to its failure to meet earnings estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $6.18, a 13% year-over-year decrease, compared to analyst expectations of $7.14.
Meta also slightly raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to between $130 billion and $145 billion. The previous low end of the estimate was $125 billion. It's a minor adjustment in the grand scheme of things, but it does send a message that AI spending isn't slowing down.
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Management, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, hasn't provided much concrete information on the progress of its frontier AI models, either. The company has delayed multiple AI rollouts, including its Avocado system and Muse Spark model.
The concerns are valid, but so is the growth case The company's AI spending is somewhat worrisome, especially given its model delays and the fact that it doesn't currently have a business to sell its computing capacity to, unlike the other hyperscalers investing heavily in AI. But the revenue growth rate is impressive for such a large company, and AI has reportedly already been driving higher ad impressions and more revenue per ad.
With that in mind, the current price could be a good buying opportunity. Wall Street analysts overwhelmingly see it as a buy, with a median one-year price target of $800, close to Mahaney's own forecast. While Meta will likely remain volatile, the strength of its business gives it substantial upside.
Meta (META +3.28%) is failing to convince investors about its AI investment.
*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of July 30, 2026. The video was published on Aug.1, 2026.
Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Bank of America Corp DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.83% of Meta Platforms worth $12,036,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Bayban raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong. Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while ad impressions, pricing, engagement and AI-powered recommendation tools continued to improve. Advantage+ advertising reportedly reached a $75 billion annualized run rate. Meta: Buy The AI Spending Panic Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and investment commentators view the selloff as an opportunity, arguing that Meta’s advertising engine can fund its AI investments and that AI is already improving ad performance, personalization and user engagement. Meta also highlighted potential enterprise AI products, personal AI agents and new applications. Buy Meta’s Earnings Drop Positive Sentiment: Despite reductions, major firms retained bullish ratings and price targets, including UBS at $715, Baird at $750, Cantor Fitzgerald at $680 and Rosenblatt at $883. The targets imply substantial long-term upside if Meta converts AI spending into monetization. Meta Given New Price Target at Baird Neutral Sentiment: The earnings miss was partly affected by approximately $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.2 billion in severance costs. Excluding these items, supporters argue that underlying profitability was healthier, but reported margins still declined. Negative Sentiment: Meta reported $6.18 in quarterly EPS, below expectations near $7.19, while free cash flow fell to only $784 million from $31.9 billion in operating cash flow as AI data-center capital expenditures surged. Investors remain unconvinced that the spending will generate adequate returns soon. Tech’s AI Buildout Has Ballooning Price Tag Negative Sentiment: Future AI-related lease obligations reached $279 billion, increasing concerns about balance-sheet commitments and execution risk. Additional legal and regulatory pressure includes a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that social-media companies harmed minors, plus an Indian police case involving Meta’s India chief over Facebook posts depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meta’s AI Splurge Lays Bare Its Compute Conundrum Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.3% Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $556.71 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $601.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $622.97. The company has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $789.95.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.
Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.
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Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,803 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,427 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.6% of Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $34,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong. Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while ad impressions, pricing, engagement and AI-powered recommendation tools continued to improve. Advantage+ advertising reportedly reached a $75 billion annualized run rate. Meta: Buy The AI Spending Panic Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and investment commentators view the selloff as an opportunity, arguing that Meta’s advertising engine can fund its AI investments and that AI is already improving ad performance, personalization and user engagement. Meta also highlighted potential enterprise AI products, personal AI agents and new applications. Buy Meta’s Earnings Drop Positive Sentiment: Despite reductions, major firms retained bullish ratings and price targets, including UBS at $715, Baird at $750, Cantor Fitzgerald at $680 and Rosenblatt at $883. The targets imply substantial long-term upside if Meta converts AI spending into monetization. Meta Given New Price Target at Baird Neutral Sentiment: The earnings miss was partly affected by approximately $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.2 billion in severance costs. Excluding these items, supporters argue that underlying profitability was healthier, but reported margins still declined. Negative Sentiment: Meta reported $6.18 in quarterly EPS, below expectations near $7.19, while free cash flow fell to only $784 million from $31.9 billion in operating cash flow as AI data-center capital expenditures surged. Investors remain unconvinced that the spending will generate adequate returns soon. Tech’s AI Buildout Has Ballooning Price Tag Negative Sentiment: Future AI-related lease obligations reached $279 billion, increasing concerns about balance-sheet commitments and execution risk. Additional legal and regulatory pressure includes a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that social-media companies harmed minors, plus an Indian police case involving Meta’s India chief over Facebook posts depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meta’s AI Splurge Lays Bare Its Compute Conundrum Insider Activity at Meta Platforms In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,376.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,325 shares of company stock worth $23,979,087. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $671.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $789.95.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Price Performance Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $556.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $601.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $622.97.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.4 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.
Meta Platforms Company Profile (Free Report)
Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.
Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.
Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms Chevron’s Strong Quarter Shows Why It Still Leads the Energy Sector Amazon’s Earnings Beat Shows Why AWS Is Back at the Center of the Bull Case Apple’s Record Quarter Could Not Outrun Its Guidance Problem McKesson’s Compounding Keeps Adding Up
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Retail investors talked up five hot stocks during the week (July 27 to July 31) on X and Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, driven by retail hype, earnings, AI infrastructure momentum, and corporate news flow.
Retail investors were bullish on AAPL and discussing buying call options on the stock. The stock had a 52-week range of $201.50 to $344.57, trading around $308 to $334 per share, as of the publication of this article. It surged by 59.50% over the year and 28.50% in the last six months. The stock was also higher by 22.65% year-to-date. AAPL had a strong price trend in the medium and long terms but a weak trend in the short term with a moderate growth score, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings. Microsoft After MSFT’s gain following its earnings, retail investors were mocking the stock for its decline on Friday. The stock had a 52-week range of $349.20 to $555.45, trading around $446 to $452 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 12.11% over the year and was up 4.84% in the last six months. The stock was down 6.72% YTD. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings showed that MSFT had a weak price trend in the long term but a strong trend in the short and medium terms, with a moderate value score. Meta Platforms Retail investors were bullish on META’s recovery after the stock’s post-earnings decline. The stock had a 52-week range of $520.26 to $796.25, trading around $538 to $548 per share, as of the publication of this article. It declined by 22.47% over the year and dropped 24.77% in the last six months. The stock was up 18.34% YTD. META maintains a weak price trend over the short, long, and medium terms, with a good quality score, as per Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings. Amazon.com Despite the bullishness in AMZN following its earnings, some retail investors were quick to shed light on the stock’s historical performance. The stock had a 52-week range of $196.00 to $278.56, trading around $234 to $266 per share, as of the publication of this article. It rose by 2.31% over the year, down 1.59% over the last six months, and up 2.03% YTD. According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, AMZN was maintaining a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate quality score. SK Hynix Some retail investors were pinning SK Hynix’s rebound in Korean markets to the Situational Awareness fund buyout by Ken Griffin‘s Citadel LLC. The stock has traded in a range of $124.80 to $194.80 and declined by 12.35% since its listing, as of the publication of this article. According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, SKHY was maintaining a strong price trend over the short, medium, and long terms, with a good growth score. Retail focus comprised AI infrastructure momentum, earnings, and corporate news-driven narratives with broader market action during the week.
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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of META either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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Meta (META +3.28%) disappointed investors with the increasing spending on artificial intelligence.
*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of July 28, 2026. The video was published on July 30, 2026.
Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Meta Platforms (META +3.28%) just reported second-quarter results, and the market is quite disappointed. The stock tumbled the day after earnings, mainly due to weak bottom-line earnings and a smaller-than-expected revenue forecast for Q3. While those factors are important, most investors completely missed a huge announcement from Meta Platforms: an upcoming cloud computing business.
This launch has long been rumored, and it could be the very thing Meta's stock needs to pull it out of a major sell-off. Despite the disappointing quarter, I remain a Meta bull, as its AI offerings haven't even had a chance to take off quite yet.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
A cloud platform could ignite new growth in Meta's stock Not having a cloud computing platform is the one thing that separates Meta from its AI hyperscaler peers. Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft all have cloud computing divisions. Each is an important part of their businesses and produces massive revenue and profits. Meta doesn't have that, as it has insisted that it is using all of its available computing capacity for internal AI model training and workloads. However, that could be changing.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the earnings call: "We've built our API, we're rolling out business agents, we're getting a lot of offers for compute at a significant premium over what we paid for it, and we have more coding and productivity tools on our road map as well. We'll have more to share on all of this soon."
It's pretty clear that Meta is launching a cloud computing business soon, and its AI models will be at the core of this business. That's major news for investors, and gives Meta the monetization path for all of its AI spending that investors have been looking for. However, the market seemed to shrug off this announcement, distracted by slightly lower short-term guidance. I think that's a major mistake, and that Meta is primed for more upside over the next few years as its AI rolls out.
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Still, investors shouldn't ignore how well Meta is doing right now. Its revenue is growing at a strong 28% pace, indicating that all of the work it's doing to integrate AI throughout its advertising business is paying off. While some investors may fixate on Meta's earnings per share falling, I think that's a poor metric to look at right now due to all of the spending that's going on to expand its AI resources.
Meta is preparing itself for an AI future, and that's going to take resources and time. Overall, I still think Meta is a great AI investment, and any sell-off due to short-term market sentiment is a great time to buy. With the market reacting negatively to Meta's latest earnings, I think now is the perfect time to scoop up shares.
Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
