Core Insights - Meta Platforms is heavily investing in capital expenditures to transition towards an AI-focused operation, which is expected to yield uncertain returns [1][5] - The upcoming quarterly report on October 29 is highly anticipated by investors, especially considering the stock's historical volatility around earnings announcements [2] Company Overview - Meta is the parent company of major social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, with nearly 3.5 billion daily users, representing about 42% of the global population [3] - The user base has grown by 6% year-over-year, but advertising revenue has increased by 19% year-over-year in the first half of 2025, indicating strong performance despite potential saturation [4][6] Financial Performance - Meta's overall revenue reached $90 billion in the first half of 2025, reflecting a 19% increase compared to the same period in 2024, primarily driven by advertising, which constitutes 98% of total revenue [6] - The company reported a net income of $35 billion in the first half of 2025, a 36% increase from the previous year, while keeping cost and expense growth in check [8] AI and Future Growth - Meta is pivoting aggressively into AI, planning to spend between $66 billion and $72 billion in capital expenditures in 2025 to leverage its vast data for AI model training [5] - The Reality Labs segment, which includes AI and VR products, generated only $782 million in revenue in the first half of 2025, indicating that it will take time to become a significant revenue driver despite the substantial investment [7][11] Investment Considerations - The stock currently has a P/E ratio of 26, which is competitive among the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, suggesting it is reasonably priced given the profit growth [9] - Investors are encouraged to consider buying Meta stock before the earnings report, as there is potential for a surge post-announcement, while also being advised to limit their investment to half of their budget [12][13]

Group 1 - Meta removed a Facebook page that was targeting and exposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Chicago after pressure from the Department of Justice [3]

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has hired Andrew Tulloch, co-founder of Mira Murati's AI startup Thinking Machines Lab, marking another major addition to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's aggressive push to close the gap in advanced artificial intelligence. Meta's Billion-Dollar Offer Wins Over Tulloch Tulloch left Thinking Machines Lab to join Meta after being offered a compensation package that could be worth up to ...

Meta has said it will roll out new guidelines for teen accounts that will restrict what users see on Instagram to content that’s similar to what they’d see in a PG-13 movie. Parents will be able to set stricter or looser restrictions as they see fit. (Photo: Getty Images) https://t.co/uugvAfeZy0 ...

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a roundtable on "Antifa," an anti-fascist movement he designated a domestic "terrorist organization" via executive order on September 22, at the White House in Washington, D.C., Oct. 8, 2025.Meta removed a Facebook group page on Tuesday that was allegedly used to "dox and target" U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Chicago after being contacted by the Department of Justice.Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed the Facebook takedown in an X post, and ...

The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday that Meta had complied with its request to take down a page on its Facebook platform that the agency said was being used to harass ICE agents in Chicago. ...

There's a major safety announcement from Meta, the parent company of Instagram. The social media giant unveiled big changes to their teen accounts. The platform owned by Meta says the changes should help teenagers see safe, age appropriate content by default while giving parents more control.>> Instagram head Adam Oeri told Today's Show anchor Craig Melvin about a new rating system. It will send content through a filtering system that's based on the PG-13 guidelines we all know from Hollywood. ...

Facebook is reintroducing job listings to users in the U.S., focusing on entry-level, trade, and service jobs. https://t.co/lacfJErehE ...

Core Insights - Facebook is reintroducing its job listings feature in the U.S. after three years, focusing on local jobs in entry-level, trade, and service sectors [1][3] - The feature allows users aged 18 and older to access job listings through the Marketplace, Groups, and Pages [1] - Users can filter jobs by category, distance, and type, and can communicate with companies via Messenger after applying [2] Historical Context - The job listings feature was first launched in 2017 in the U.S. and Canada, expanding to over 40 countries in 2018, but was discontinued in 2023 due to competition from LinkedIn [3] - In 2022, Facebook limited its job listings support to the U.S. and Canada before ultimately discontinuing it [3] Strategic Intent - Meta's decision to bring back job listings may reflect a desire to return to its foundational purpose beyond social networking, as indicated by CEO Mark Zuckerberg's goals for the year [4] - The reintroduction aims to attract younger users, particularly Gen Z, who are entering the job market [4] Market Positioning - By focusing on entry-level and service industry jobs, Facebook seeks to differentiate itself from LinkedIn, which primarily targets medium- and high-skilled roles [5] - Facebook boasts over 3 billion monthly active users, while LinkedIn has over 1 billion users [6]

Core Insights - META's stock has experienced a 43% increase over the last six months, driven by strong quarterly performance and significant investments in AI that enhanced the advertising business [2][4] - The company reported a 22% year-over-year revenue growth to $47.5 billion in Q2 2025, with earnings per share (EPS) reaching $7.14, marking the 10th consecutive quarter of exceeding profit estimates [6] - META's advertising revenue grew by 21% year-over-year in Q2 2025, attributed to AI-driven ad efficiency and increased user engagement across its platforms [6] Financial Performance - META returned $9.76 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and $1.33 billion in dividends in Q2 2025, reflecting strong capital management [3] - The company's P/E multiple increased by 33.5%, contributing to the stock price surge [4] - Forecasted capital expenditures for 2025 are between $66 billion and $72 billion, with plans to expand computing capacity to over 2 million GPUs by FY26 [6] Challenges and Risks - The Reality Labs division reported operating losses of approximately $4.5 billion in Q2 2025, indicating ongoing financial challenges despite innovation efforts [7] - Regulatory pressures are emerging, particularly with META's decision to ban political and social issue advertisements in the EU starting October 2025 due to new regulations [6]