|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
New: Instantly spot drawdowns, dips, insider moves, and breakout themes across Maps and Screener.
Meta's digital advertising business is booming.
The tech giant is doubling down on its AI-driven growth strategy.
Meta Platforms' (NASDAQ: META) artificial intelligence (AI) investments are beginning to bear fruit.
Shares of Facebook's and Instagram's parent company climbed more than 7% this past week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, following its fourth-quarter earnings release.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
The number of daily active users across Meta's family of apps grew by 7% year over year to a staggering 3.58 billion. The social media colossus also ramped up its monetization efforts, with ad impressions increasing by 18% in the fourth quarter.
Despite the sharp increase in ads, Meta was able to command a 6% higher average price per ad, giving evidence of the rising value it's delivering to marketers.
All told, Meta's revenue jumped 24% to $60 billion. Its earnings per share, which were impacted by the company's heavy growth investments, still grew by nearly 11% to $8.88. That topped Wall Street's estimates, which had called for per-share profits of $8.22.
Meta plans to pump even more money into its AI development efforts in 2026. Chief financial officer Susan Li told investors to expect full-year capital expenditures of $115 billion to $135 billion, up from $72 billion in 2025. Much of this spending will be on AI-related cloud computing, infrastructure, and labor costs.
"I'm looking forward to advancing personal superintelligence for people around the world in 2026," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.
Before you buy stock in Meta Platforms, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Meta Platforms wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $450,256!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,171,666!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 942% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 31, 2026.
Joe Tenebruso 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.
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 | |
| Jan-31 |
Join thousands of traders who make more informed decisions with our premium features. Real-time quotes, advanced visualizations, backtesting, and much more.
Learn more about FINVIZ*Elite