CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to bring personal superintelligence to the masses.
Meta Platforms‘ (META 2.95%) 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.
Image source: Getty Images.
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.
Today’s Change
(-2.95%) $-21.81
Current Price
$716.50
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$1.8T
Day’s Range
$713.59 – $732.17
52wk Range
$479.80 – $796.25
Volume
24M
Avg Vol
19M
Gross Margin
82.00%
Dividend Yield
0.29%
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.
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.