Meta Stock Rockets to $711 — Is This the Launchpad to $900 and Beyond?

Meta Stock Rockets to $711 — Is This the Launchpad to $900 and Beyond?

Meta’s AI edge and WhatsApp monetization are rewriting revenue math — Will META (NASDAQ:META) explode past $900 with $30+ EPS by 2026? | That's TradingNEWS

TradingNEWS Archive 6/18/2025 6:46:29 PM
Stocks META AMZN NVDA MSFT

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Stock Analysis – June 2025

NASDAQ:META Redefines Monetization With WhatsApp Ads and AI-Led Creative Tools

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has crossed $700, trading at $711.45, as the company unleashes a double-barreled growth engine powered by WhatsApp monetization and AI integration. Wall Street consensus is still lagging behind what appears to be a multi-billion dollar top-line and margin expansion wave, with forward EPS potentially hitting $30.57 by 2026. Despite being part of the Mag 7, Meta continues to trade at only 22.9x 2026 forward earnings, below the S&P 500’s 22.5x, even as it crushes peer group growth metrics.

WhatsApp Monetization Could Add $15 Billion in Revenue — And It's Just Starting

Meta's WhatsApp monetization strategy is now live across key emerging markets, including India, Brazil, and the Middle East. With nearly 3 billion global users, even a conservative $5 ARPU (average revenue per user) from WhatsApp would generate $15 billion in new annual revenue — not yet priced into current analyst forecasts. If WhatsApp hits that revenue number at Meta’s 51.6% EBITDA margin, that’s $7.75 billion in new EBITDA, and $5.86 billion in net income based on Meta’s 39.1% margin.

This translates to a $2.33 EPS uplift, boosting Meta’s 2026 earnings forecast to $30.57/share. That figure alone would drop the forward P/E to under 23x — a discount to the market, with far higher growth.

META's AI Takeover: Scale AI Stake Secures Strategic Moat

In a move overlooked by most analysts, Meta quietly acquired 49% of Scale AI, valued at $29 billion, bringing its founder Alexandr Wang into the Meta AI team. This rare structure allows Meta access to Scale’s elite labeling tech while other LLM competitors back away. The exodus of OpenAI partners from Scale ironically gives Meta exclusivity over some of the best data annotation systems in the industry — a clear vertical integration strategy.

Wang's involvement means Meta can feed its LLaMA models significantly cleaner and structured data, boosting Meta’s long-term competitiveness in both consumer and enterprise AI.

Meta’s Ad Engine: AI-Generated Campaigns Driving Engagement and Margin Growth

Meta’s Advantage+ campaigns are now fully AI-led, enabling small businesses to deploy ads with no agency or creative support. In real terms, the system creates visuals, headlines, and even video content, tailored per audience. Meta is now an ad agency in a box — for 10+ million advertisers.

By 2026, Meta plans to fully automate the end-to-end ad pipeline — creation, targeting, execution. This not only removes costs for advertisers but also cements Meta’s dominance over digital ad budgets, which increasingly flow directly through AI rather than intermediaries.

As Zuckerberg said on the Q1 earnings call, Meta’s AI now outperforms many businesses at defining and reaching target audiences. It’s not hyperbole — it's a margin expansion machine. With 97% of Meta’s $160B revenue coming from ads, the automation impact could drive EBITDA and ROIC even higher.

Inside META’s Financial Fortress: BBBS Status With $70B in Cash and Negative Net Debt

Meta’s "Big Beautiful Balance Sheet" status is unshakable. With $70.2 billion in cash, $86.8 billion in EBITDA, and falling share count, Meta generates $1.76 billion annually just in net interest income. This places the stock in rare territory as a self-funding growth engine — immune to rate hikes and capable of deploying capital at scale for R&D or M&A without dilution or leverage.

With just 2.514 billion shares outstanding, every dollar of net income gets concentrated into shareholder returns — either via buybacks or earnings power.

Link to META Insider Transactions shows consistent executive holding patterns, with no large-scale sell-offs despite the stock tripling from 2022 lows in the $90s.

AI Arms Race: Meta’s Talent Poaching War With OpenAI Reveals Cultural Divide

Sam Altman recently revealed that Meta has offered over $100 million in signing bonuses to OpenAI employees — and failed. Top talent declined the money, citing OpenAI’s culture and superintelligence prospects. Altman was blunt: Meta’s attempt to buy talent instead of build culture is falling short.

This matters. It means Meta is going to have to win through platform advantage, not just compensation — and it's leaning heavily on acquisitions like Scale AI and internal innovation rather than poaching. It also underlines Meta’s urgency in securing a dominant AI narrative before Alphabet or Microsoft pulls ahead.

Fed Watch and Macro Risk: Markets Brace For Projections, Not Just Rates

With 10-year yields ticking up to 4.4%, and every economist forecasting no Fed rate move, today’s meeting isn’t about action — it’s about projections. A shift from two to one rate cut in the Fed's dot plot could spark volatility. But the bigger issue for NASDAQ:META is geopolitical — with increased tensions in the Middle East (especially between Israel and Iran) raising macro uncertainty and risk-off moves.

That said, Meta’s business model is largely immune to tariffs or shipping disruption. It’s an asset-light, code-heavy, global platform — not an exporter. It thrives in chaos as advertisers double down on targeted digital.

Wall Street Still Blind: EPS Growth Guidance Is A Joke

Wall Street sees just 7% EPS growth for META this year, despite the company delivering 37% EPS growth in Q1 and a 5-year EPS CAGR of 29.5%. The disconnect is staggering. Even after Meta beat Q1 EPS by 23.5%, full-year EPS estimates didn’t budge. This reflects how underappreciated Meta’s AI monetization cycle still is.

These stale estimates keep the P/E ratio artificially high — if analysts rerated even moderately based on WhatsApp and AI tailwinds, META’s forward multiple would drop well below peers, inviting a revaluation rally.

Is NASDAQ:META a Buy at $711? The Verdict: Still Bullish With Room To Run

Despite a 600% rally from the 2022 lows, NASDAQ:META still trades at only 22.9x 2026 earnings. With forward EPS rising to $30.57/share, AI-led margin expansion underway, and WhatsApp about to inject $15B in fresh top-line fuel, the market is behind — not ahead — of the curve.

The risks? Regulation, CapEx scale, and intensifying competition from Amazon and Google. But the moat is getting deeper, not shallower. Meta’s integrated ad-AI engine, Scale AI pipeline, global user base, and financial fortress give it offensive and defensive edge.

Verdict: Buy

Meta remains one of the few mega-cap names where the valuation doesn’t fully reflect its current momentum or future cash flow generation. At $711, it's not cheap — but it's not expensive relative to what’s coming next. With AI as the lever and WhatsApp as the unlock, META could retest $900+ within 12–18 months.

That's TradingNEWS