Mark Zuckerberg Declares 'Facemash' His Most Important Accomplishment at Harvard, Not 'Facebook'
Zuckerberg's Reflection on Facemash: During a 2017 Harvard commencement address, Mark Zuckerberg described Facemash, a controversial prank website he created in college, as his most impactful creation, even more so than Facebook, as it led him to meet his wife, Priscilla Chan.
Impact of Facemash: Facemash, launched in 2003, allowed users to rank students' attractiveness using photos obtained without permission, leading to its quick shutdown by Harvard and potential expulsion for Zuckerberg due to privacy violations.
Personal Significance: Despite the controversies surrounding Facemash, Zuckerberg acknowledged its role in his personal life, as he met Chan at a farewell party for him, and they later married and co-founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Lessons from the Past: This narrative highlights the unpredictable nature of life and the importance of learning from past mistakes, providing insight into Zuckerberg's journey and the evolution of one of the world's leading tech figures.
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Analyst Views on META
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- Stock Split Motivation: Meta has yet to execute a stock split despite its stock price rising over 200% in the past three years, currently trading around $670, which may deter some investors due to its psychological price barrier.
- Market Performance Analysis: Although Meta's stock has declined over 6% in the past year, its market capitalization remains at $1.7 trillion, indicating the company's strong position and potential investment appeal in the market.
- AI Investment Priority: Meta has recently focused on enhancing its AI capabilities and infrastructure investments, suggesting that a stock split is not a current priority but may be reconsidered in 2026.
- Future Outlook: Should Meta's stock gain momentum and rise quickly in the coming year, it may contemplate executing a stock split, aligning itself with other tech giants to attract more investors.
- Market Potential: Quantum computing is projected to create between $450 billion and $850 billion in global economic value by 2040, offering substantial return potential for investors despite being significantly smaller than the trillion-dollar AI market.
- Stock Price Surge: As of October 2025, shares of IonQ, Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum, and Quantum Computing Inc. have skyrocketed by 670%, 6,217%, 3,912%, and 2,798% respectively over the past 12 months, reflecting strong market confidence in quantum computing.
- Significant Financing Risks: These four quantum computing companies collectively issued over $4.1 billion in common stock and warrants in 2025 to raise capital, indicating their unproven operating models and posing dilution risks for existing shareholders.
- Increased Competitive Pressure: With major players like Amazon and Microsoft ramping up investments in quantum computing, the low barriers to entry could threaten the market position of pure-play quantum companies, potentially leading to their obsolescence as the technology matures.
- Portfolio Shift: During a recent investor presentation, Ackman revealed that Pershing Square exited its long-held position in Chipotle, reallocating roughly 10% of its portfolio to Meta Platforms, indicating a strong conviction in the AI sector.
- Major Stake in Meta: Pershing acquired approximately $2 billion in Meta Platforms last quarter, representing nearly 10% of its fund, reflecting Ackman's optimism about Meta's growth potential, particularly in AI investments.
- AI Investment Outlook: Meta's Q3 earnings report indicated plans for significantly increased AI-related spending in the coming years, which initially spooked investors but Ackman believes will benefit Meta's core social media business by enhancing ad effectiveness and driving revenue growth.
- Valuation Appeal: Despite trading at 21.8 times 2026 earnings estimates, Meta's core business valuation drops to only 18 times when excluding Metaverse spending, highlighting its relative undervaluation in the market, which continues to attract Ackman's investment.
- Quantum Stock Performance: As of mid-October, stocks of IonQ, Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum, and Quantum Computing Inc. surged by up to 6,200% over the past year, reflecting strong investor confidence and robust market demand for this nascent technology.
- Market Potential Analysis: According to a forecast by Boston Consulting Group, quantum computing could generate between $450 billion and $850 billion in global economic value by 2040, attracting significant investor interest despite its smaller market size compared to artificial intelligence.
- Risks and Challenges: While quantum computing stocks present substantial return potential, they face risks such as share dilution and slow commercialization; collectively, these four companies issued over $4.1 billion in common stock and warrants in 2025 to raise capital, which could negatively impact existing shareholders.
- Competitive Pressure: With the
- Portfolio Restructuring: Ackman's Pershing Square exited its position in Chipotle to allocate approximately $2 billion into Meta Platforms, constituting nearly 10% of its portfolio, reflecting strong conviction in the AI sector.
- Market Reaction Analysis: Following Meta's Q3 earnings report, the stock plummeted from $750 to below $600, yet Ackman's cost basis is around $625, indicating his firm belief in Meta's future growth potential despite volatility.
- AI Investment Outlook: Meta plans to significantly ramp up AI investments by 2026, which may strain cash flow in the short term; however, Ackman argues that the core social media business will benefit, enhancing ad effectiveness and driving revenue growth.
- Valuation Advantage: While Meta trades in line with the market, its core business has a P/E ratio of only 18 times earnings, suggesting that with over 3.5 billion daily active users, Meta still presents an attractive opportunity for long-term value for investors.
- AI Investment Surge: Major cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet announced significant increases in capital expenditures during Q4 to support AI-related chip and data center investments, indicating a strong commitment to capitalize on AI opportunities and likely driving further market expansion.
- Palantir Exceeds Expectations: Palantir reported a 70% year-over-year revenue increase and a 79% rise in earnings per share in Q4, primarily driven by robust demand for its Artificial Intelligence Platform, highlighting the urgent need for AI solutions in the enterprise sector and the market's potential.
- TSMC's Strong Sales: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) experienced a 26% year-over-year revenue growth and a 35% increase in earnings per share in Q4, with January marking its highest monthly revenue ever, underscoring the robust demand for AI and reinforcing market confidence in AI technologies.
- Wall Street's Bullish Outlook: Among 63 analysts, 94% rated Nvidia as a buy or strong buy, with Evercore ISI's Mark Lipacis setting a price target of $352, suggesting an 85% potential upside, reflecting the market's strong recognition of Nvidia's leadership position in the AI sector.








