Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms was set to extend its winning streak for a 20th consecutive trading day on Friday, cruising to new highs on a wave of support for the Instagram and Facebook parent’s artificial-intelligence strategy. Shares of Meta Platforms rose 1.1% to $736.70, on track for a record high, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The stock has stomped its record for the previous longest rally, which lasted 11 days in September 2015. Meta’s latest winning streak kicked off on Jan. 16, following reports that President-elect Donald Trump was weighing an executive order to delay the U.S. ban on TikTok. The rally is so long that it began in the final days of the Biden administration — since then, it has persisted through some of the most significant, market-rocking news. That includes the looming threat of chip tariffs and the broad selloff triggered by Chinese start-up DeepSeek. In fact, Meta was […]

Meta Platforms’ (META) WhatsApp messaging service won a reprieve in India on Thursday when the country’s National Company Law Appellate Tribunal suspended a fine and data sharing ban that was imposed on the platform by the Competition Commission of India. The antitrust regulator, in November, imposed a fine of 2.13 billion Indian rupees ($25 million) on Meta and banned WhatsApp from sharing data within the Meta group, concluding that WhatsApp “abused its dominance” and unfairly compelled users to agree to certain privacy policy changes. According to the regulator, the policy changes enabled comprehensive data collection and sharing within the Meta group. Meta has challenged the ruling, and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal has suspended the fine and data sharing ban while it considers the social media company’s appeal, with the next hearing scheduled for March 17.

Meta Platforms had a stellar 2024 and BofA Securities sees further upside. Analysts Justin Post and Nitin Bansal reiterated a Buy rating on the social media stock and increased their target for the price to $710 from $660 on Thursday. Meta stock edged 1% up to $629.94 in morning trading. Last year, Meta shares gained 65% — it outpaced Alphabet, which added 35% — thanks to strong cost discipline and optimism about the company’s capabilities in artificial intelligence. “With a stable macro backdrop, a growing AI contribution to ad revenues, ramping messaging revenues, and continued cost discipline (recent headcount cuts), we remain positive on the stock in 2025,” the analysts wrote. For longer-term investors, the perceived return on investment on AI is going to prove critical for the stock, BofA argued. Shorter-term investors are likely to focus on any gains in advertising revenue that AI brings this year, as well

Meta stock has had a good start to the year — up more than 5% — and momentum is looking strong. It could get even better — the social media company is an artificial intelligence top pick, according to Jefferies analysts who say investors shouldn’t be put off by high AI spending. Big Tech companies such as Meta, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet have been under pressure recently as investors have become concerned about hefty investments in AI — and when returns on those investments may start showing up on their balance sheets. While ramped-up spending has spooked investors, that is no reason to worry about Meta, Jefferies analysts led by Brent Thill said in a research note published Wednesday. Meta’s next capex guidance may even come in above Wall Street’s, already high, estimates given that the company has indicated it will give quantitative full-year guidance in the fourth-quarter report, scheduled

In the dynamic and fiercely competitive business environment, conducting a thorough analysis of companies is crucial for investors and industry enthusiasts. In this article, we will perform an extensive industry comparison, evaluating Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in relation to its major competitors in the Interactive Media & Services industry. By closely examining crucial financial metrics, market position, and growth prospects, we aim to offer valuable insights for investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry. Meta Platforms Background Meta is the largest social media company in the world, boasting close to 4 billion monthly active users worldwide. The firm’s “Family of Apps,” its core business, consists of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. End users can leverage these applications for a variety of different purposes, from keeping in touch with friends to following celebrities and running digital businesses for free. Meta packages customer data, gleaned from its application ecosystem and sells ads

2025 is going to be a big year for artificial intelligence, Meta Global Business’s Nicola Mendelsohn tells Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Meta’s ad revenue has seen a 25% increase thanks to AI. Advertisers want to focus on growth, which can be boosted by using Gen AI tools provided by the platform. While there is a greater sense of frustration in the U.S. compared to Europe over the complications of the regulatory environment, there is more optimism in the U.S., Mendelsohn says. The company’s switch to community-based fact checking is in alignment with Meta’s aim to provide free expression to its users, Mendelsohn adds.

Emily Dattilo The recent team-up with Meta Platforms could mean growth for eBay, Citi analysts argued. On Wednesday, eBay announced some of its listings can now be found on Meta’s Facebook Marketplace, and the stock soared 9.9% on the news. “While eBay listings will be shown on Facebook Marketplace, the entire process (from product inquiries to transaction and payment) will be handled by eBay,” analysts led by Ygal Arounian wrote in a Wednesday note. “We expect the channel expansion into Facebook Marketplace should significantly expand the audience and reach for eBay sellers’ listings.” They rate eBay stock at Buy with a price target of $75. It’s difficult to pinpoint a gross-merchandise-value estimate for Facebook Marketplace since the majority of its transactions are done off the platform, the analysts noted. But the platform has over 1 billion monthly visitors, while eBay had only 133 million active buyers as of the third

Shares of eBay were trading sharply higher after the online marketplace said some of its listings can now be found on Meta Platforms’ Facebook Marketplace. “This week kicks off our collaboration, with a pilot of select eBay listings appearing on Facebook Marketplace in the US, Germany, and France,” eBay said in a statement Wednesday. The announcement arrived after Meta last year was fined EUR797.72 million by the European Commission for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying Facebook Marketplace to Facebook and “by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers.” EBay stock gained 11% to $70.32 in trading Wednesday, and was on track for its largest daily percentage increase since Feb. 1, 2018, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It also the best performer Wednesday in the S&P 500. Meta shares fell 0.7% to $613.54.

Citi is more bullish than the rest of Wall Street about Meta Platforms. It all comes down to ads. Analyst Ronald Josey is upping his estimates for Meta’s third-quarter earnings based on new internal Citi data for Reels, the company’s short-video service. The company is expected to report results on Oct. 23. Josey predicts Meta will deliver $5.48 per share in earnings on $40.7 billion in sales. Both numbers indicate year over year growth will be a percentage point higher than his earlier estimates. The consensus is $5.19 per share in earnings on $40.1 billion in sales, FactSet data show. The new data show that the number of ad loads — the percentage of ads encountered while watching Reels — has reached 22.2% to date in the third quarter, up 70 basis points from the previous quarter. More than 75% of Meta’s advertisers use Reels, Josey said. “Given our view

By Angela Palumbo Meta Platforms stock has soared this year on confidence in the company’s generative artificial intelligence initiatives. But management’s plans to spend heavily on AI are a reason to sell the stock, according to BNP Paribas. Analyst Stefan Slowinksi initiated coverage of Meta with an Underperform rating and a target of $360 for the price. That implies a decline of 18% from Wednesday’s closing price of $439.19. Slowinksi cited the high cost of investing aggressively in generative AI, plus the fact that he believes “Meta has no new revenue streams to replenish its resources, which will also continue to be drained by its Metaverse adventures.” Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Only three Wall Street analysts, including Slowinski, rate Facebook’s parent company at Sell, or the equivalent. Of the 67 analysts tracked by FactSet, 57 say the stock is a Buy, while seven say it

European Commission reportedly plans to investigate Meta Platforms Inc’s (NASDAQ:META) Facebook and Instagram over concerns regarding Russia disinformation, with suspicions of inadequate moderation. Regulators are alarmed by Meta’s purportedly insufficient efforts to combat political advertising disinformation, risking electoral integrity, according to a report from Financial Times. Also See: How Apple’s Arch Rivals Meta And Google Are Revamping Their Plans To Take On The Might Of iPhone And Vision Pro EU officials express unease over Meta’s handling of Russian interference in upcoming European elections, underlining broader concerns about misinformation spread by foreign entities. Moreover, the accessibility of Meta’s content flagging system under the EU’s Digital Services Act raises apprehensions, with fears that it might not meet regulatory standards. The investigation, spurred by Meta’s report on disinformation handling and the EU’s assessment, will scrutinize whether Facebook and Instagram comply with the law in placing political content. The probe also delves into Meta’s discontinuation of

Meta Platforms’ (META) accelerated artificial intelligence investments are expected to drive more durable engagement and revenue growth, Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients Thursday. The company said late Wednesday that it expects full-year 2024 capital expenditures to be in the range of $35 billion to $40 billion, compared with $30 billion to $37 billion previously, as it continues to accelerate its AI infrastructure investments. “We agree with higher investment to come as Meta continues to accelerate AI infrastructure investments for more durable engagement and revenue growth,” Morgan Stanley said. The $39 billion top end of Meta’s Q2 revenue guidance was 1% ahead of Morgan Stanley’s expectations and the company’s Q1 revenue of $36.5 billion was also roughly in line with the firm’s forecast, according to the note. Morgan Stanley maintained its overweight rating and $550 price target on Meta. Meta’s shares were down 11.7% in recent trading Thursday.