Why Meta Platforms Stock Surged This Week
Key Points
Meta's digital advertising business is booming.
The tech giant is doubling down on its AI-driven growth strategy.
- 10 stocks we like better than Meta Platforms ›
Meta Platforms' (NASDAQ: META) artificial intelligence (AI) investments are beginning to bear fruit.
Shares of Facebook's and Instagram's parent company climbed more than 7% this past week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, following its fourth-quarter earnings release.
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AI-fueled advertising gains
The number of daily active users across Meta's family of apps grew by 7% year over year to a staggering 3.58 billion. The social media colossus also ramped up its monetization efforts, with ad impressions increasing by 18% in the fourth quarter.
Despite the sharp increase in ads, Meta was able to command a 6% higher average price per ad, giving evidence of the rising value it's delivering to marketers.
All told, Meta's revenue jumped 24% to $60 billion. Its earnings per share, which were impacted by the company's heavy growth investments, still grew by nearly 11% to $8.88. That topped Wall Street's estimates, which had called for per-share profits of $8.22.
Ramping AI capex
Meta plans to pump even more money into its AI development efforts in 2026. Chief financial officer Susan Li told investors to expect full-year capital expenditures of $115 billion to $135 billion, up from $72 billion in 2025. Much of this spending will be on AI-related cloud computing, infrastructure, and labor costs.
"I'm looking forward to advancing personal superintelligence for people around the world in 2026," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.
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Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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