Anthropic Secures $13 Billion in Funding, Valuation Reaches $183 Billion
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Sep 02 2025
0mins
Should l Buy META?
Source: WSJ
Fundraising Achievement: AI company Anthropic successfully raised $13 billion in a Series F funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $183 billion.
Investor Participation: The financing was co-led by new investor Iconiq, alongside returning investors Fidelity Management & Research and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy META?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on META
Wall Street analysts forecast META stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for META is 824.71 USD with a low forecast of 655.15 USD and a high forecast of 1117 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
44 Analyst Rating
37 Buy
6 Hold
1 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 691.700
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 691.700
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
About META
Meta Platforms, Inc. is building human connections, powered by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. The Company's products enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets, augmented reality (AR), and wearables. It also helps people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enabling people to share their experiences, ideas, photos, videos, and other content with audiences ranging from their closest family members and friends to the public at large. The Company's segments include Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL). FoA segment includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads. RL segment includes its virtual, augmented, and mixed reality related consumer hardware, software and content. Its product offerings in VR include its Meta Quest devices, as well as software and content available through the Meta Horizon Store.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Meta Doubles Down on AI Investments, Market Responds Favorably
- Earnings Beat: Meta's Q4 2025 earnings report exceeded consensus by approximately $1.3 billion, with a 24% year-over-year increase in advertising revenue, demonstrating the effectiveness of AI investments and boosting market confidence in future growth.
- Capex Plans: CEO Zuckerberg announced plans to increase AI-related capital expenditures to between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2025, surpassing Wall Street's expectation of nearly $111 billion, indicating strong confidence in AI infrastructure.
- Return on Tech Investment: By doubling the number of GPUs used for training its ad ranking model, Meta has enhanced its ad targeting capabilities, which is expected to further drive ad revenue growth, particularly as its video generation tools achieve a $10 billion annual revenue run rate, growing three times faster than the overall ad business.
- Risk Warning: While the market is optimistic about Meta's AI spending, investors should remain cautious of Zuckerberg's history of overextending into other technologies, especially given Reality Labs' cumulative losses exceeding $80 billion, ensuring that AI investments continue to yield returns.
See More
Meta and Zelestra Expand Clean Energy Partnership with New PPA
- Project Launch: The Jasper County Solar project in Indiana has achieved full commercial operations, marking the first project to come online in the partnership between Meta and Zelestra, which is expected to provide significant clean energy supply to the region.
- New Agreement Signed: The companies have signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the 176 MWdc Skull Creek Solar Plant in Texas, further advancing Meta's renewable energy initiatives in the state and supporting its goal of 100% clean energy operations.
- Capacity Expansion: Meta and Zelestra now have approximately 1.2 GWdc of solar capacity across seven projects in the US, all scheduled to be operational by 2028, significantly enhancing their competitive position in the renewable energy market.
- Future Construction Plans: With the upcoming construction of two new projects, Zelestra is advancing its position in the US energy landscape, expected to provide innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of large corporate partners in renewable energy.
See More
Quarterly Performance Comparison: Microsoft vs Meta
- Microsoft Cloud Performance: Microsoft reported a 39% growth in its Azure cloud computing segment for Q2, surpassing the management's expectation of 37%, indicating strong demand for AI spending; however, despite this excellent performance, the stock fell by about 10%, presenting a potential buying opportunity for investors.
- Meta Capital Expenditure Plans: Meta expects capital expenditures to reach between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026, a significant increase from $72.2 billion in 2025, raising market concerns about over-leveraging towards AI; however, management reassured that they expect operating income in 2026 to exceed that of 2025, alleviating some market fears.
- Revenue Growth Comparison: Meta's revenue grew by 22% in Q4, reflecting the effectiveness of its generative AI investments, while Microsoft's overall revenue growth was 17%; although both companies performed well, Meta's faster growth may attract more investor interest.
- Valuation Analysis: Microsoft has a forward P/E ratio of 26, slightly higher than Meta's 24, and while the difference is minimal, considering Meta's faster growth and relatively cheaper valuation, investors may lean towards Meta, although Microsoft's long-term growth potential remains strong.
See More
Microsoft Azure Growth Exceeds Expectations, Meta's Capital Expenditure Soars
- Microsoft Azure Performance: Microsoft achieved a 39% growth in Azure for Q2, surpassing the management's expectation of 37%, indicating strong demand for its cloud computing services in AI spending; despite a 10% drop in stock price, this presents a buying opportunity for investors.
- Meta's Capital Expenditure Plans: Meta anticipates capital expenditures between $115 billion and $135 billion for 2026, a significant increase from $72.2 billion in 2025, primarily for data center investments, although concerns about over-leveraging towards AI persist in the market.
- Divergent Market Reactions: Despite Meta's 22% revenue growth in Q4, showcasing the effectiveness of its generative AI investments, its stock still fell by about 10%, contrasting with Microsoft's 20% decline, reflecting differing market expectations for the two companies' future performance.
- Investment Choice Analysis: While Meta's growth rate is higher and its valuation slightly lower than Microsoft's (forward P/E ratios of 24 and 26 respectively), the long-term growth potential of Azure and its steadier revenue stream make Microsoft an attractive option in the investment decision-making process.
See More
Alphabet Reports Strong Q4 Results, AI Spending Drives Growth
- Significant Revenue Growth: Alphabet's Q4 revenue increased by 18% year-over-year to $113.83 billion, surpassing the market expectation of $111.43 billion, demonstrating strong performance in search, network, and cloud businesses despite a slight decline in YouTube ads and subscriptions.
- Earnings Per Share Surge: The earnings per share (EPS) rose by 31% year-over-year to $2.82, significantly exceeding the market estimate of $2.63, indicating a marked improvement in the company's profitability and further solidifying investor confidence.
- Capital Expenditure Surge: Management forecasts capital expenditures for 2026 to range from $175 billion to $185 billion, well above the Street's estimate of $115 billion, highlighting the company's ongoing investment in artificial intelligence that will drive future growth.
- AI Driving Search Traffic: Concerns that AI would cannibalize search revenue have proven unfounded, as the Gemini app now boasts over 750 million monthly active users, with search usage hitting a quarterly record, indicating that AI investments are generating increased traffic to Google Search.
See More
Alphabet's 2026 Capex Forecast Exceeds Expectations
- Capex Expectations: Alphabet anticipates its 2026 capital expenditures will range from $175 billion to $185 billion, with the upper limit more than double its 2025 spending, indicating a significant commitment to AI infrastructure despite Wall Street's concerns about increased spending.
- Cloud Business Growth: The backlog in Google's cloud unit surged 55% sequentially and more than doubled year-over-year to $240 billion by the end of Q4, highlighting the company's robust performance in meeting customer demand for AI services, even as the overall software sector has lost 30% of its value in the last three months.
- AI User Growth: The monthly active users of Google's flagship AI app Gemini increased from 650 million to 750 million, demonstrating growing market acceptance of AI products and reflecting the strategic significance of the partnership with Apple to enhance the Siri virtual assistant.
- Infrastructure Investment: In 2025, Alphabet allocated approximately 60% of its capital expenditures to servers and 40% to data centers and networking equipment, indicating that ongoing investments in technical infrastructure will support future demand for AI services.
See More
Meta Doubles Down on AI Investments, Market Responds Favorably
- Earnings Beat: Meta's Q4 2025 earnings report exceeded consensus by approximately $1.3 billion, with a 24% year-over-year increase in advertising revenue, demonstrating the effectiveness of AI investments and boosting market confidence in future growth.
- Capex Plans: CEO Zuckerberg announced plans to increase AI-related capital expenditures to between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2025, surpassing Wall Street's expectation of nearly $111 billion, indicating strong confidence in AI infrastructure.
- Return on Tech Investment: By doubling the number of GPUs used for training its ad ranking model, Meta has enhanced its ad targeting capabilities, which is expected to further drive ad revenue growth, particularly as its video generation tools achieve a $10 billion annual revenue run rate, growing three times faster than the overall ad business.
- Risk Warning: While the market is optimistic about Meta's AI spending, investors should remain cautious of Zuckerberg's history of overextending into other technologies, especially given Reality Labs' cumulative losses exceeding $80 billion, ensuring that AI investments continue to yield returns.
See More
Meta and Zelestra Expand Clean Energy Partnership with New PPA
- Project Launch: The Jasper County Solar project in Indiana has achieved full commercial operations, marking the first project to come online in the partnership between Meta and Zelestra, which is expected to provide significant clean energy supply to the region.
- New Agreement Signed: The companies have signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the 176 MWdc Skull Creek Solar Plant in Texas, further advancing Meta's renewable energy initiatives in the state and supporting its goal of 100% clean energy operations.
- Capacity Expansion: Meta and Zelestra now have approximately 1.2 GWdc of solar capacity across seven projects in the US, all scheduled to be operational by 2028, significantly enhancing their competitive position in the renewable energy market.
- Future Construction Plans: With the upcoming construction of two new projects, Zelestra is advancing its position in the US energy landscape, expected to provide innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of large corporate partners in renewable energy.
See More
Quarterly Performance Comparison: Microsoft vs Meta
- Microsoft Cloud Performance: Microsoft reported a 39% growth in its Azure cloud computing segment for Q2, surpassing the management's expectation of 37%, indicating strong demand for AI spending; however, despite this excellent performance, the stock fell by about 10%, presenting a potential buying opportunity for investors.
- Meta Capital Expenditure Plans: Meta expects capital expenditures to reach between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026, a significant increase from $72.2 billion in 2025, raising market concerns about over-leveraging towards AI; however, management reassured that they expect operating income in 2026 to exceed that of 2025, alleviating some market fears.
- Revenue Growth Comparison: Meta's revenue grew by 22% in Q4, reflecting the effectiveness of its generative AI investments, while Microsoft's overall revenue growth was 17%; although both companies performed well, Meta's faster growth may attract more investor interest.
- Valuation Analysis: Microsoft has a forward P/E ratio of 26, slightly higher than Meta's 24, and while the difference is minimal, considering Meta's faster growth and relatively cheaper valuation, investors may lean towards Meta, although Microsoft's long-term growth potential remains strong.
See More
Microsoft Azure Growth Exceeds Expectations, Meta's Capital Expenditure Soars
- Microsoft Azure Performance: Microsoft achieved a 39% growth in Azure for Q2, surpassing the management's expectation of 37%, indicating strong demand for its cloud computing services in AI spending; despite a 10% drop in stock price, this presents a buying opportunity for investors.
- Meta's Capital Expenditure Plans: Meta anticipates capital expenditures between $115 billion and $135 billion for 2026, a significant increase from $72.2 billion in 2025, primarily for data center investments, although concerns about over-leveraging towards AI persist in the market.
- Divergent Market Reactions: Despite Meta's 22% revenue growth in Q4, showcasing the effectiveness of its generative AI investments, its stock still fell by about 10%, contrasting with Microsoft's 20% decline, reflecting differing market expectations for the two companies' future performance.
- Investment Choice Analysis: While Meta's growth rate is higher and its valuation slightly lower than Microsoft's (forward P/E ratios of 24 and 26 respectively), the long-term growth potential of Azure and its steadier revenue stream make Microsoft an attractive option in the investment decision-making process.
See More
Alphabet Reports Strong Q4 Results, AI Spending Drives Growth
- Significant Revenue Growth: Alphabet's Q4 revenue increased by 18% year-over-year to $113.83 billion, surpassing the market expectation of $111.43 billion, demonstrating strong performance in search, network, and cloud businesses despite a slight decline in YouTube ads and subscriptions.
- Earnings Per Share Surge: The earnings per share (EPS) rose by 31% year-over-year to $2.82, significantly exceeding the market estimate of $2.63, indicating a marked improvement in the company's profitability and further solidifying investor confidence.
- Capital Expenditure Surge: Management forecasts capital expenditures for 2026 to range from $175 billion to $185 billion, well above the Street's estimate of $115 billion, highlighting the company's ongoing investment in artificial intelligence that will drive future growth.
- AI Driving Search Traffic: Concerns that AI would cannibalize search revenue have proven unfounded, as the Gemini app now boasts over 750 million monthly active users, with search usage hitting a quarterly record, indicating that AI investments are generating increased traffic to Google Search.
See More
Alphabet's 2026 Capex Forecast Exceeds Expectations
- Capex Expectations: Alphabet anticipates its 2026 capital expenditures will range from $175 billion to $185 billion, with the upper limit more than double its 2025 spending, indicating a significant commitment to AI infrastructure despite Wall Street's concerns about increased spending.
- Cloud Business Growth: The backlog in Google's cloud unit surged 55% sequentially and more than doubled year-over-year to $240 billion by the end of Q4, highlighting the company's robust performance in meeting customer demand for AI services, even as the overall software sector has lost 30% of its value in the last three months.
- AI User Growth: The monthly active users of Google's flagship AI app Gemini increased from 650 million to 750 million, demonstrating growing market acceptance of AI products and reflecting the strategic significance of the partnership with Apple to enhance the Siri virtual assistant.
- Infrastructure Investment: In 2025, Alphabet allocated approximately 60% of its capital expenditures to servers and 40% to data centers and networking equipment, indicating that ongoing investments in technical infrastructure will support future demand for AI services.
See More
