The Motley Fool·2026-02-19 09:12Meta Platforms - Meta Platforms owns the three most popular social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, providing valuable consumer behavior insights for precise ad targeting, making it the second-largest adtech company globally [4] - The company has heavily invested in artificial intelligence (AI), developing machine learning models for content retrieval and ad optimization, as well as custom chips for training these models [5] - In the fourth quarter, Meta reported a 24% increase in revenue to $59.9 billion, driven by more engaging content and increased ad impressions, although net income grew only 11% to $8.88 per diluted share due to aggressive AI spending [6] - Wall Street estimates a 19% annual earnings growth over the next three years, making the current valuation of 27 times earnings appear reasonable, suggesting long-term investors may consider buying [8] Amazon - Amazon operates the largest e-commerce marketplace in North America and Western Europe, is the largest retail advertiser globally, and has the largest public cloud service, Amazon Web Services (AWS) [9] - The company is investing aggressively in AI, developing generative AI applications to enhance margins across its retail business and introducing new products and services in AWS [10][11] - Despite a 12% stock decline since announcing fourth-quarter earnings, driven by a planned $200 billion capital expenditure in 2026 (up 56% from 2025), AWS sales accelerated to the fastest pace in 13 quarters, with operating margin increasing by 1.5 percentage points excluding one-time charges [12] - Wall Street expects Amazon's earnings to grow at 17% annually over the next three years, making the current valuation of 29 times earnings attractive, indicating that buying shares may be a wise decision for long-term investors [13][14]