NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 30: Andy Jassy on stage at the 2022 New York Times DealBook on November 30, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Thos Robinson/Getty Images for The New York Times)Getty Images for The New York TimesAmazon announced another round of layoffs as part of what CEO Andy Jassy described as an ongoing cultural reset. Tens of thousands of roles have been eliminated over the past two years as the company restructures around cloud infrastructure, AI services, and operational efficiency. Many ...

We recently published 10 Big Names With Explosive Gains.  Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) was one of the top performers on Thursday. Facebook operator Meta Platforms jumped by 10.40 percent on Thursday to close at $738.31 apiece as investors took heart from an investment firm’s 9 percent price target upgrade for its stock despite reporting lower profits in full-year 2025. In its market report, BofA Securities raised its price target for the stock to $885 from $810 previously, while reaffirming its “buy ...

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) kicked off Big Tech earnings season in fine form on Wednesday, topping estimates on the top and bottom line, and issuing better-than-expected guidance for the first quarter. While doubts about the AI boom have lingered after concerns about a bubble sent AI stocks falling briefly toward the end of last year, from Meta's perspective, the boom is alive and well. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right ...

Core Viewpoint - Allegations by former contractors claim that Meta personnel had access to WhatsApp messages, contradicting Meta's marketing of the app as private and encrypted [1][23][24] Group 1: Allegations and Investigation - The investigation is being conducted by the US Department of Commerce, focusing on claims that Meta staff had "unfettered" access to WhatsApp messages [1][23] - Content moderators, contracted through Accenture, reported that they and some Meta employees could access WhatsApp messages that were supposed to be encrypted [5][6] - The inquiry is referred to as "Operation Sourced Encryption" and is ongoing, with the last activity noted as recent as January [9][10] Group 2: Meta's Response - A Meta spokesperson stated that the claims are impossible, asserting that WhatsApp and its employees cannot access encrypted communications [2][5] - Meta's shares fell approximately 1% in extended trading following the news of the allegations [5] - The company has faced previous accusations regarding user privacy, including a $5 billion fine from the FTC, although these did not involve WhatsApp [12][24] Group 3: Technical Aspects and User Privacy - WhatsApp claims that it cannot access messages due to encryption keys residing on users' devices, which are not accessible to the company [24] - The app does allow limited access to message information in specific cases, such as when a user reports problematic messages [14][24] - Allegations suggest broader access than what WhatsApp officially acknowledges, with contractors claiming they could request access to communications [15][24] Group 4: Legal Context - A lawsuit filed in January 2023 alleges that Meta and WhatsApp can access users' private communications, citing whistleblower claims [18][24] - Meta has labeled the lawsuit as "frivolous" and intends to pursue sanctions against the plaintiffs' counsel [20][24] - The expansion of end-to-end encryption by Meta has drawn criticism from law enforcement, particularly regarding its implications for tracking criminal activities [21][24]

Market Overview - Major indexes closed off session lows, with the Dow up +55 points (+0.11%) and the S&P 500 down -0.13%. The Nasdaq fell -172 points (-0.72%) before recovering somewhat [1] Microsoft (MSFT) - Microsoft experienced a significant sell-off due to higher-than-anticipated AI spending and OpenAI exposure, resulting in a market cap loss of -$430 billion in one day. Despite beating earnings expectations for fiscal Q2, the outlook on AI spending appears riskier [2][8] Meta Platforms (META) - In contrast to Microsoft, Meta Platforms saw a +10.4% increase in stock price, benefiting from its AI investments in advertising and marketing, which are yielding gains in the social media space [3] Apple (AAPL) - Apple outperformed expectations in its fiscal Q3 report, with earnings of $2.84 per share surpassing the $2.65 consensus. Revenues reached $143.76 billion, exceeding expectations and showing a +16% year-over-year increase. iPhone sales rose +23% year-over-year to $85.27 billion, driven by a +38% surge in China sales [4][5] Visa (V) - Visa reported earnings of $3.17 per share, beating estimates by three cents, with revenues of $10.9 billion, a +15% increase from the previous year. However, concerns about future growth arise from proposed caps on credit card rates [6] SanDisk (SNDK) - SanDisk posted a remarkable earnings beat of $6.20 per share compared to the anticipated $3.54, with revenues of $3.03 billion. The company provided optimistic next-quarter earnings guidance of $12-14 per share, significantly higher than the Zacks consensus of $5.36. SanDisk's Data Center business saw a +64% growth quarter over quarter [7]

Meta reported its Q4 earnings on January 28. The earnings release beat consensus estimates, and the stock is up about 9.8%  at the time of writing, Thursday afternoon, Jan. 29, according to Yahoo Finance. “We ended 2025 strong with more than 3.5 billion people now using at least one of our apps every day," said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the earnings call. "That includes more than 2 billion daily actives each on Facebook and WhatsApp — and just shy of that on Instagram. Our business also performed ve ...

this time its spending plans once again blowing away expectations but the stock is higher. >> Yeah, I mean spending is through the roof. It's it's bonkers how much this company is going to spend uh you know 100 billion plus in 2026 fiscal 2026 and so you know they basically said uh in in the prior quarter we're going to see meaningful uh growth when it comes to spending and they certainly delivered on that. uh they spent 72 billion in the the last year and so that's a pretty huge jump nearly doubling what t ...

Core Insights - Meta Platforms reported strong Q4 results, showcasing significant revenue growth and earnings beat, while providing optimistic guidance for future performance [1][3][9] Financial Performance - Q4 sales reached $59.89 billion, a nearly 24% increase from $48.38 billion in the same quarter last year, surpassing estimates of $58.59 billion by 2% [3] - Q4 EPS was $8.88, up 11% from $8.02 a year ago, beating expectations of $8.21 by 8% [3][4] Capital Expenditures - Meta announced a significant increase in capital expenditures (CapEx), expecting it to be between $115-$135 billion in 2026, up from $72.22 billion last year and more than 200% from $37.26 billion in 2024 [7] - The increase in CapEx is aimed at scaling AI infrastructure, including data centers and the "Meta Superintelligence Labs" [4][6] AI Impact - AI has been a primary contributor to Meta's growth, enhancing ad targeting, driving higher engagement, and strengthening advertiser demand [2][6] - The robust growth in Meta's family of social media apps, higher ad impressions, and improved ad pricing were key factors in the strong Q4 performance [2] Future Guidance - Meta provided positive revenue guidance for Q1 2026, expecting sales between $53.5-$56.5 billion, exceeding Wall Street's expectations of $51.38 billion [9][10] - Year-over-year growth estimates for the upcoming quarters indicate a strong outlook, with anticipated growth rates of 21% for the current quarter and 18.6% for the next quarter [10] Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) - Meta's ROIC stands at 27%, indicating a strong ability to convert invested capital into profits, which is favorable compared to the S&P 500 average of 15% [11] Valuation - Meta is positioned as one of the most attractively priced high-growth tech stocks, with a forward P/E valuation of 22X, which is lower than its peers in the Mag 7 [13] - Despite a high stock price of over $700, the valuation presents a discount compared to other major tech companies [13] Market Position - Following the strong Q4 report, Meta stock holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), with potential for a buy rating due to favorable guidance, valuation, and ROIC [15] - Anticipated EPS revisions for FY26 and FY27 could further catalyze upside in Meta stock, with double-digit growth expected [16]

January Strength Signals Potential New HighsJanuary looks likely to confirm a bullish reversal on the monthly chart with a close at a three-month high, above $711. Once confirmed, the chance to eventually rise above the record high at $796.25. During January’s ascent, the 10-month average was reclaimed, a sign of strength.Remaining above the 10-month average may lead to a similar advance as seen following the 2022 low. In February 2023, the 10-month average was reclaimed and a strong rally followed, with it ...

ToplineMark Zuckerberg’s fortune added more than $22 billion Thursday, ranking him as the world’s fourth-richest person, surpassing Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as Meta’s stock rallied after once again exceeding Wall Street’s expectations for quarterly revenue. The company reported quarterly revenue that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.Key FactsShares of Meta surged 10.2% to above $737 as of 3:20 p.m. EST, the largest intraday jump for the stock since ris ...