Latest news with #META
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is META Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold as Meta Platforms Launches New v-JEPA 2 AI Model?
As the artificial intelligence (AI) race accelerates toward advanced machine intelligence (AMI), tech giants are pushing boundaries to create agents that can reason more like humans. A key piece of this puzzle is physical reasoning, essential for AI systems to navigate and act within the real world. Meta Platforms (META) has stepped into this frontier with the launch earlier in June of its Meta Video Joint Embedding Predictive Architecture 2 (V-JEPA 2), a powerful video-based world model that helps machines anticipate how the physical world behaves. Unlike language-only models, V-JEPA 2 learns from video data to predict object dynamics and human interactions using latent-space simulation. It allows robots to 'think before they act,' performing tasks like picking up and placing objects in unfamiliar environments. Ditch Big Tech and Buy These 3 Popular Stocks in 2025 Instead Dear Nvidia Stock Fans, Watch This Event Today Closely Can Broadcom Stock Hit $400 in 2025? Tired of missing midday reversals? The FREE Barchart Brief newsletter keeps you in the know. Sign up now! Meta's bold move also includes new benchmarks to accelerate physical reasoning research, plus, a reported $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, signaling CEO Mark Zuckerberg's intent to anchor AI deeply into Meta's ecosystem. But does this push into physical AI make META stock a buy, or should investors wait on the sidelines? Meta Platforms (META) has grown from a college social network into a global tech powerhouse, redefining how billions of people communicate. The California-based tech titan now oversees a sprawling digital empire, anchored by social media giants such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, and is charging ahead into the future with ambitious bets in AI, augmented reality, and the metaverse. What began with a newsfeed has evolved into a full-scale push to shape how humans and machines interact in the next era of connectivity. That future-facing focus seems to be paying off. Meta's shares have surged more than 700% over the past decade. In 2025, META has so far delivered a standout 21% YTD gain, and over the past year, the stock has skyrocketed 38.8%, handily beating not just some of its tech peers, which flinched under pressure, but also the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) returns. The surge was fueled by rising ad revenues, deeper AI integration, and investor faith in its metaverse roadmap. Meta's Q1 2025 earnings report, released on April 30, came out swinging, crushing expectations and fueling a 4.2% jump in the stock the very next day. Revenue climbed 16% year over year to $42.3 billion, beating Wall Street's estimate of $41.4 billion. But the real knockout punch came from EPS, soaring 37% to $6.43, 23.2% higher than forecasts. Meta's ad engine is still humming, with impressions up 5% and the average price per ad jumping 10%. User growth remains rock solid too, as, in March, daily active users across the company's app family reached 3.4 billion, up 6% year-over-year. Meta tightened the screws on costs and it paid off. Its operating income surged 27% to $17.56 billion, lifting margins to 41%. Plus, with $70.2 billion in cash and marketable securities and just $28.8 billion in long-term debt, Meta heads deeper into 2025 with a strong balance sheet and momentum on its side. CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted AI as the driving force behind the company's renewed energy, particularly Meta AI and its growing line of smart glasses. Meta AI has already hit nearly 1 billion monthly users. But the real story may be what's next. Looking ahead, management anticipates Q2 revenue to be between $42.5 billion and $45.5 billion, signaling continued strength. Plus, with capex now projected to be between $64 billion and $72 billion for 2025, Meta is going full throttle into AI infrastructure and next-gen computing. Analysts monitoring the social media company project its revenue for Q2 to be around $44.5 billion, and EPS for the quarter is anticipated to rise by 11.4% year over year to $5.75. Looking further ahead to fiscal 2025, the bottom line is expected to climb to $25.25 per share, up 5.8% annually. AI-driven robotics and autonomous systems are reshaping industries - from logistics to consumer tech - with speed and adaptability becoming the new gold standard. Meta's V-JEPA 2 steps into this evolving space as a potentially disruptive force. What truly elevates V-JEPA 2, however, is Meta's decision to open-source the framework. By releasing code, benchmarks, and training data, Meta is fostering a collaborative ecosystem, one that could fuel innovation far beyond its own walls. Yet this openness is a double-edged sword. It lowers barriers for startups but also gives its competitors access to refine their systems faster. For Meta, the model is a strategic leap, but long-term success depends on how well it is integrated, scaled, and monetized. Meta's ambition to dominate AI just got Wall Street's nod. Recently, Bank of America hiked its price target to $765, citing easing macroeconomic worries and expanding valuations. Buzz around Meta's roughly $14.3 billion Scale AI investment only adds fuel, signaling Zuckerberg's intent is to lead the AI race, not follow. Wall Street has got its foot on the gas for Meta. The stock holds a 'Strong Buy' consensus, signaling full-speed-ahead confidence in its trajectory. Of the 54 analysts offering recommendations, 45 are giving it a solid 'Strong Buy,' three advise a 'Moderate Buy,' four suggest a 'Hold,' and only two advocate a 'Strong Sell.' META's average analyst price target of $711,88 implies modest 2.4% potential upside. However, the Street-high price target of $935 suggests that the stock can still rally as much as 32% from here. On the date of publication, Sristi Suman Jayaswal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
10 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Meta Platforms (META) Considers Using Rival AI Models Instead of Llama
Tech giant Meta Platforms (META) is reportedly thinking about pulling back from its own Llama language models in favor of models from rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, according to The New York Times. This would be a big shift in strategy, since Meta's Llama models are open-source, meaning others can use and modify them, while OpenAI and Anthropic use 'closed' models that aren't open to the public. So far, no final decision has been made. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter This possible change comes after the rocky launch of Meta's Llama 4 models in April. Indeed, Meta introduced the models during its LlamaCon event, but they didn't perform as well as competing AI models, and many developers left the event unimpressed. Since then, Meta has been spending heavily to catch up. Earlier this month, it announced a $14.3 billion investment to buy nearly half of Scale AI. As part of that deal, Scale's CEO Alexandr Wang will join Meta to lead its 'superintelligence' team, which is focused on creating artificial general intelligence. Meta is also making bold moves to attract top AI talent. Reports say that the company is offering massive signing bonuses—up to $100 million—to hire researchers from OpenAI. On top of that, Meta is in talks to buy PlayAI, which is a startup that creates realistic AI voices. The company had even looked into acquiring other AI firms like Perplexity AI, Runway AI, and FuriosaAI before choosing to invest in Scale. Altogether, these efforts show how serious Meta is about becoming a leader in the AI space under CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Is Meta a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 42 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average META price target of $716.48 per share implies that shares are near fair value.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Pinterest Rides on Solid Customer Growth: Will the Uptrend Continue?
Pinterest, Inc. PINS has been witnessing steady customer growth across all regions in the last several quarters. In the first quarter of 2025, the company reported a global monthly active user (MAUs) of 570 million, which is an all-time record. The company's unique approach of attracting users through discovery and inspiration sets it apart from other social media platforms and popular digital advertising is increasingly establishing a unique value proposition to advertisers that could provide a competitive advantage in the long run. Through various innovations, it continues to dramatically improve the advertising platform, which presently appears to be one of the best ad platforms for consumer discretionary brands looking for new ways to reach customers and stretch smaller ad budgets. The company recently introduced AI-Powered Auto-Collages, which transform product catalogs into personalized and shoppable collages. The tool, powered by advanced AI, takes into account unique outfit ideas, user saves and product similarities to create a shoppable visual content that drives user engagement. Pinterest's AI-enhanced trend tools allow advertisers to understand the emerging shopping trends. Leveraging such leading-edge AI innovations, advertisers can create, execute campaigns that target the intent-based shoppers with enhanced content personalization. A strong focus on innovation will likely drive customer engagement in the upcoming our estimate, MAUs from the United States and Canada are expected to reach 106 million, up 5% year over year in 2025. MAUs from Europe are approximated to be 158.8 million, indicating 9.5% year-over-year growth. From the rest of the world, MAUs are estimated at 343.8 million, implying a solid 12% uptick year over year in 2025. Pinterest faces fierce competition in the digital advertising space from Meta Platforms, Inc. META and Snap, Inc. SNAP. Meta is utilizing AI to boost user engagement in Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. By improving its AI recommendation engine, the company has increased users' time spent on Facebook by 7% and on Instagram by 6%. During the first quarter of 2025, META has registered a Family Daily Active People of 3.43 billion, up 5.9% year over year. Snap has been steadily adding interactive features to make the Snapchat platform more attractive to users and advertisers. It has become the most preferred social networking medium among Millennials and Gen Z. In the first quarter of 2025, Snap's global community reached 460 million daily active users ('DAU'), up 9% year over year. North America's DAU was 99 million, which decreased 1% year over year. Europe's DAU was 99 million, up 3.1% year over year. Rest of the world's DAU was 262 million at the end of the reported quarter, which jumped 15.9% year over year. Shares of Pinterest have declined 20.3% in past year against the Internet - Software industry's growth of 38.6%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Going by the price/sales ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 5.37 forward sales, lower than the industry. It carries a Value Score of D. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Pinterest is currently witnessing an uptrend in the estimate revisions. PINS' earnings estimates for 2025 have moved up 2.22% to $1.84 per share over the past 60 days, while the same for 2026 has increased 2.9% to $2.13. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Pinterest currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Snap Inc. (SNAP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pinterest, Inc. (PINS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: Meta will only make limited changes to pay-or-consent model, EU says
BRUSSELS, June 27 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab will only make limited changes to its pay-or-consent model rolled out in November 2024 and EU antitrust regulators cannot verify for now if the changes are sufficient to comply with an EU antitrust order, the European Commission said on Friday. "With this in mind, we will consider the next steps, including recalling that continuous non-compliance could entail the application of periodic penalty payments running as of 27 June 2025, as indicated in the non-compliance decision," a Commission spokesperson said in an email.
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
M&A News: Meta Platforms (META) Is Reportedly in Talks to Acquire PlayAI
Tech giant Meta Platforms (META) is reportedly in talks to acquire PlayAI, a California startup known for creating AI-generated voices that sound human, according to a Bloomberg report. The potential deal would give Meta access to PlayAI's technology and possibly some of its employees. However, sources noted that the agreement hasn't been finalized yet, and the terms could still change. Furthermore, the financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. Confident Investing Starts Here: This move follows Meta's recent $15 billion investment for a 49% stake in Scale AI, which shows that the company is serious about becoming a major player in the competitive AI space. Indeed, Meta has been actively pursuing AI-related deals this year while also hiring top talent from rivals like Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft-backed OpenAI (MSFT). For example, it just recently poached Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai from OpenAI's Zurich office. The company has also previously attempted to acquire other AI firms, including Perplexity AI, Runway AI, and FuriosaAI. Interestingly, Meta's aggressive push into AI is similar to its earlier strategy during the rise of social media, when it quickly acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to stay ahead of its competitors. With this new focus on AI, Meta is trying to secure a leading position in the next wave of tech innovation by using acquisitions and top-tier talent to build what it is calling its 'superintelligence group,' which focuses on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI). For context, AGI refers to AI systems that can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks at a human-like level of intelligence. Is Meta a Buy, Sell, or Hold? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 42 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average META price target of $717.26 per share implies that shares are near fair value.
