Meta is upping its AI investments. Wall Street's not sure how that will pay off.
The threat from Meta comes just weeks after a New Mexico jury slapped the company with $375 million in civil penalties and ruled that the company failed to protect kids from sexual predators on its apps.
Meta has seen a surge in business users employing its artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Speaking during the company's Wednesday (April 29) earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said these tools were handling 10 million conversations a week by late March, compared to 1 million at the start of the year.
Meta slides after earnings beat as higher 2026 capex and weak user metrics spook investors, putting META-heavy ETFs like VOX in focus.
Meta Platforms delivered robust Q1 results, with 33% YoY revenue growth and a 62% EPS beat, yet shares fell on increased capex guidance. The market overreacted to META's Capex hike to $125–$145B for 2026, discounting the long-term strategic value of AI infrastructure investment. META's unparalleled distribution, network effects, and proprietary data position it as a premier AI leader, with forward revenue and EPS growth expected to outpace peers.
Meta Platforms tops Q1'26 estimates as ad demand lifts revenues by 33% to $56.31B. AI progress includes the first Superintelligence Labs model.
The hosts of The Best One Yet podcast captured the magnitude of Meta's AI ambitions in a single line during their “MAMA Stocks” segment: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) is “the most profitable company in history that you've never paid a dollar to.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) stock fell after JPMorgan downgraded it to Neutral from Overweight, cutting the price target to $725 from $825.
Meta Platforms (META) remains a long-term compounder, but is now in a technical bear market with short-term downside risk. META's Q1 2026 showed strong core ad growth and 14% adjusted EPS growth, but elevated CapEx and Reality Labs losses weigh on sentiment. Rising CapEx, driven by higher component costs and AI infrastructure investment, is compressing ROI and raising near-term concerns.
Meta Platforms, Inc. delivered >33% revenue and >30% operating profit growth in Q1, with margins exceeding 40%, underscoring exceptional profitability. What else does the market want? The market's negative reaction to META's modest CapEx guidance increase (
Meta Platforms delivered strong Q1'26 results, beating top and bottom line estimates and maintaining robust free cash flow despite ramped-up CapEx. META's 33% year-over-year revenue growth and strategic AI investments reinforce its position as a top value play among Big Tech peers. The social media enterprise benefited from a big user base, higher ad prices globally (+12% Y/Y), as well as traction from AI automation.
Meta has begun offering stablecoin payouts to a limited group of creators. The feature is now available to creators in Colombia and the Philippines, according to a post in the tech giant's Business Help Center.