ZACKSยท2025-09-17 18:11Core Insights - Meta Platforms (META) and Snap (SNAP) are leveraging AI to enhance user engagement and attract advertisers, leading to increased advertising revenue growth [1][2][6] Digital Advertising Growth - Global ad spending is projected to grow 4.9% to $992 billion by 2025, with digital ad spending expected to rise 7.9% to $678.7 billion [2] - META's advertising revenue for Q3 2025 is estimated at $48.44 billion, reflecting over 21% growth year-over-year [5] Meta Platforms' Performance - META's AI initiatives, including the Andromeda machine learning system, have improved ad targeting, resulting in a 5% increase in ad conversions on Instagram and 3% on Facebook in Q2 2025 [2] - Engagement metrics show a 5% increase in time spent on Facebook and 6% on Instagram, with video engagement on Instagram rising over 20% year-over-year [3] - META AI has surpassed 1 billion monthly active users and is available in over 200 countries [4] - Earnings estimates for META in 2025 are projected at $28.13 per share, indicating a 17.9% increase from 2024 [10] Snap's Performance - Snap's advertising platform saw a 39% year-over-year growth in commerce-driven ad volume in Q2 2025, with new ad formats improving conversion rates [6] - Snap's daily active users reached 469 million, an 8.6% increase year-over-year, with a subscriber base for Snapchat+ nearing 16 million [7][8] - Earnings estimates for Snap in 2025 remain steady at 25 cents per share, suggesting a 13.79% decline from 2024 [11] Stock Performance and Valuation - META shares have appreciated 33% year-to-date, while SNAP shares have declined by 28.1% [12] - META is trading at a forward Price/Sales ratio of 8.99X, compared to SNAP's 2.06X, indicating that both stocks are considered overvalued [15] Conclusion - Both META and SNAP are positioned to benefit from increasing digital ad spending, but META's larger user base, AI advancements, and rising earnings estimates provide it with a competitive advantage over SNAP [18]