Listen to this post:Good morning,Today’s Stratechery Interview is with me! On January 27 I sat down with Stripe President John Collison in the Cheeky Pint pub in Stripe’s offices for an episode of the Cheeky Pint podcast. There is a YouTube video of the interview that you can watch here, or, you can read the transcript below.In this interview we discuss life in Taiwan, ads in AI, and how Mark Zuckerberg’s obsession with being a platform has harmed Meta. Then we talk about the TikTok deal, the impact of AI a ...

Core Insights - A significant week of earnings results is anticipated for major hyperscalers Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT), both of which have underperformed the S&P 500 over the last three months [1][5]. Financial Performance - Both META and MSFT have shown stable sales and EPS revisions, with META's earnings expected to increase by 1.6% and MSFT projected to see a stronger growth rate of 20% [7]. - MSFT's revenues are expected to rise by 15%, while META's revenues are forecasted to grow by 20.7% year-over-year [7]. Advertising and Revenue Metrics - META is expected to generate $56.8 billion in ad revenue, reflecting a 21% year-over-year increase, which aligns with recent performance trends [10]. - MSFT's Intelligent Cloud revenue is estimated at $32.4 billion, indicating a robust 27% year-over-year improvement, driven by the expansion of its Azure platform [15]. Market Sentiment and Analyst Outlook - Analysts have not significantly raised their expectations for either company, but the stability in EPS and sales revisions is viewed positively [8]. - MSFT currently holds a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy), which supports a strong earnings outlook [8][17]. Capital Expenditures and AI Focus - Both companies are expected to discuss their AI outlook extensively during earnings calls, with capital expenditures related to AI being a major focus [6][16]. - The increase in capital expenditures for both companies is anticipated to pay off, particularly in the context of their AI investments [14].

The Retirement Forum provides actionable ideals, a high-yield safe retirement portfolio, and macroeconomic outlooks, all to help you maximize your capital and your income. We search the entire market to help you maximize returns. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META ) saw double-digit after-hours share price growth following Q2 earnings , pushing its market cap towards $2 trillion. The outperformance more than makes up for the company's 5% underperformance since we argued that its The Value Portfolio speciali ...

Core Insights - Meta Platforms is increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to enhance its advertising business, which generated approximately $166 billion in revenue over the last 12 months, with a growth rate of 22% in 2024 compared to 16% in 2023 [2][3]. Group 1: AI and Advertising - Meta aims to allow users to fully automate ad creation and targeting using AI by the end of 2026, which could significantly streamline the ad campaign process [3][4]. - The costs associated with traditional ad campaigns can be high, with estimates indicating that basic video ads cost around $3,500 per minute and full-fledged campaigns for medium-sized businesses range from $10,000 to $20,000 per month [5][6]. - By utilizing Meta's AI tools, these costs could be dramatically reduced, making it more attractive for smaller businesses to shift their ad spending towards Meta [6][7]. Group 2: Competitive Advantage - Meta's AI advancements are expected to enhance the efficiency of ad campaigns, leading to increased revenue growth and improved margins, which are crucial for boosting the company's stock price [7][11]. - Meta ads have achieved an average return on ad spending (ROAS) of six-to-one, outperforming Google Ads, which has a four-to-one ROAS [9]. - In the U.S., Meta has the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) among social media platforms, with Instagram and Facebook generating around $223 and $191 per user, respectively, indicating strong advertiser value [10]. Group 3: Market Outlook - Analysts have a 12-month stock price forecast for Meta at $729.38, suggesting a potential upside of 1.65% from the current price of $717.51 [8]. - Despite a Moderate Buy rating, some top analysts believe there are better investment opportunities available compared to Meta [12].