#meta-platforms

#meta-platforms

Shares of Meta Platforms sank despite the social media company reporting strong third-quarter results that easily topped analyst estimates, as investors fret over its capital expenditures (capex) spending. The company said it needs more computing power for its artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, and as such raised the low end of its capex budget this year from a prior outlook of $66 billion to $72 billion to a new range of $70 billion to $72 billion. It also expects a big increase next year as well.

Expectations are high following second-quarter results that one analyst said "blew the doors off." Analysts project Meta will post sales of $49.5 billion for the September-ended quarter, according to FactSet, representing 22% year-over-year growth. That's the highest growth target for Meta this year. For Meta's Q2 and Q1 results earlier this year, analysts were forecasting sales growth of 14% and 13%, respectively, ahead of the results. Meta beat both of those marks with 22% sales growth in Q2 and 16% in Q1.

Of everything Meta said this quarter, the real story wasn't the revenue beat or the one-time tax charge that crushed reported net income. It was this: the company just committed to spending $70-72 billion on capital expenditures in 2025. That's a 93% increase from 2024's $37.3 billion. For context, Meta spent $31.4 billion on capex in 2022. The company is nearly doubling its infrastructure investment in a single year.

The Meta CEO dropped two spots on Bloomberg's Billionaires Index after the company's quarterly earnings report sent its stock sliding. Zuckerberg lost around $29.2 billion overnight, leaving him with $235 billion. The drop pushed him to fifth place on the index, below Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Alphabet's Larry Page. Page's net worth increased to $244 billion as Alphabet's shares rose 2.5% after the company beat earnings estimates, buoyed by robust growth in Google Cloud and Search.

Meta Platforms is the world's leading social technology company, operating a family of apps including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, alongside its emerging virtual and augmented reality ecosystem under Reality Labs. With over 3 billion users across its platforms, Meta continues to dominate global digital advertising, while investing heavily in AI-driven engagement, short-form video monetization, and metaverse infrastructure. Over the past few years, Meta has shifted focus from pure user growth to efficiency, automation, and profitability.

Meta Platforms Inc. found record-shattering demand for its bond sale on Thursday even as its shares plunged, in a sign that bond investors are looking past any concerns about its artificial-intelligence spending plans. The company sold $30 billion of bonds, the largest high-grade US note sale since 2023, drawing the most ever orders at $125 billion. That came on a day where Meta's shares dropped as much as 14%, after it had posted quarterly earnings late Wednesday,

Just this morning, analysts at Mizuho reiterated an outperform rating on Advanced Micro Devices ( NASDAQ: AMD) with a price target of $275 from $205. All after AMD announced a long-term deal to become a key supplier to OpenAI's AI infrastructure program. AMD added that the new partnership will allow it to generate billions of dollars in annual revenue. It will also allow it to generate over $100 billion in total revenue from chips over the next few years.

Meta Platforms Inc. violated federal and state law by knowingly allowing-and profiting-from scam impersonation ads on its social media websites, a class action filed in a California federal court says.

2025 is three-fourths over. While that may be odd to say, the reality is that a new investing year is almost upon us. However, there are still plenty of stocks that are worth buying now, especially to capture an end-of-year rally that may occur as institutional investors reposition their portfolios to capture gains where they think the market will be heading in 2026.

This year, one of the better performers among the Magnificent 7 has been Meta Platforms Inc. ( NASDAQ: META). Its shares have outperformed the broader market and are currently up 22.9% in the past six months, and last month they hit an all-time high of $796.25. For comparison, other Magnificent 7 members have fared worse. Look no further than Apple Inc. ( NASDAQ: AAPL) and Tesla Inc. ( NASDAQ: TSLA), which are up 0.8% and 9.6%, respectively, since the beginning of the year.

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