Meta Platforms is my top market pick, despite recent underperformance and market concerns over aggressive capital investment plans. META's strong revenue, user, and ad growth are driven by AI investments, but upcoming CapEx may temporarily eliminate free cash flow. META is deeply undervalued among the Magnificent 7, with Family of Apps' profitability understated by Reality Labs losses.
U.S. senators Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal have asked the heads of the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to probe Meta Platforms, following a Reuters report about the social media giant's revenue from ads on Facebook and Instagram that promote scams and banned goods.
Favorable treatment off the balance sheet hinges on some convenient assumptions.
Meta halted internal research that purportedly showed people who stopped using Facebook became less depressed and anxious, according to an unredacted legal filing released on Friday. The legal brief is related to high-profile multidistrict litigation from plaintiffs such as school districts, parents and state attorneys general against companies like Meta, YouTube, Snap and TikTok.
Although Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) stock has experienced volatile recent sessions, the equity has received a bullish outlook from Wall Street for the next 12 months.
Microsoft has a partnership with an AI leader and offers in-demand AI services through the cloud. Meta Platforms' business is improving thanks to AI while it prepares for the next wave of breakthroughs.
Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook and Instagram after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users' mental health, according to unredacted filings in a class action by U.S. school districts against Meta and other social media platforms.
In order to accelerate the construction of new power plants needed to provide energy for its data centers, Meta is looking to get into the business of trading electricity.
Meta Platforms delivered strong Q3 results, with 3.5 billion daily users and 26% year-over-year revenue growth across its family of apps. META's organic growth remains robust despite AI product challenges and talent retention issues, highlighting its unique moat in human connection and product execution. Concerns over increased AI capex are overblown; META's high margins, strong revenue growth, and low PEG ratio make it an attractive mega-cap growth play.
Meta Platforms remains a hold, as conviction in capital discipline and monetization of futuristic investments is lacking despite strong core business performance. META's Reality Labs continues to generate heavy losses with unclear strategic direction, raising concerns about ROI and overall capital allocation. Rising capex and margin compression, coupled with ambiguous AI monetization, justify META's valuation discount relative to peers like Google and Microsoft.
Meta Platforms, Inc. re-enters “anti-bubble” territory, and now is the cheapest Magnificent 7 stock with price growth finally trailing strong revenue and EPS growth. Heavy CAPEX temporarily depresses free cash flow, but positions META ahead in AI with proprietary LLMs and GPU leadership. Debt issuance spooked markets, yet META remains lightly leveraged with one of the strongest balance sheets in the S&P 500.
Many investors still view Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) as primarily a social media company running Facebook and Instagram.