Meta Platforms Expected to Grow 20% in 2026 with 3.54 Billion Daily Users
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 09 2026
0mins
Should l Buy META?
Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Strong User Base: Meta Platforms attracted an average of 3.54 billion daily active users across its apps in September, significantly surpassing other social media platforms, which solidifies its position as the preferred choice for advertisers and enhances its market leadership.
- Successful AI Integration: The company has effectively integrated generative AI solutions into its advertising platforms, enabling clients to customize messages, which is expected to improve click-through rates and enhance advertising pricing power, driving revenue growth.
- Robust Financial Position: As of the end of September, Meta held nearly $44.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents, with nearly $80 billion in net cash generated from operating activities through the first nine months of 2025, allowing for investments in multiple high-growth initiatives without the need for immediate monetization.
- Reasonable Valuation: With a forward P/E ratio of 22 times and a potential sales growth of up to 20% in 2026, Meta appears relatively cheap in a historically pricey market, making it an attractive option for investors.
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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: 670.210
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 670.210
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.
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- AI-Driven Revenue Growth: Meta achieved a 24% revenue growth in Q4, driven by increased user engagement and stable ad price hikes, demonstrating its effectiveness in AI applications and market potential.
- Generative AI Potential: Meta is planning to leverage generative AI to attract more advertisers, combining personalized content and shopping agent features, which is expected to generate substantial ad revenue and further solidify its market position.
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- Standalone App Testing: Meta is testing the standalone 'Vibes' platform, which allows users to create and share only AI-generated videos, aiming to enhance user experience and attract more content creators.
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- Immersive Experience: The new app provides a focused and immersive environment designed to enhance the experience of creating and discovering AI-generated videos, thereby driving user engagement and community interaction.
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- Hardware Competitive Advantage: Alphabet's TPU chip serves as an alternative to Nvidia's GPUs and is being extensively utilized by Anthropic, which is likely to create additional hardware demand for Alphabet and further solidify its market position.
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- Historic Decline: Ives noted that in his 25 years of experience, he has never witnessed such a structural selloff, with software companies being perceived as lacking space in the AI age, reflecting a significant drop in market confidence that could result in a loss of about 5% of customers.
- AI Impact Analysis: While Ives acknowledged that AI disrupts the software industry, he argued that considering software as obsolete is an extreme view, citing Palantir as an example of how software can still thrive in the AI era, demonstrating that there is still room for software to succeed.
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