Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)

Hard to be bearish on it over the longer term. Ubiquitous in people's lives. Nothing against it, but you have to pick your spots in the Mag 7 and he owns GOOG and MSFT.

Loves it. Big swings give her a chance to add. Beneficiary of AI on monetization (as opposed to infrastructure) through advertising. Last quarter, revenue grew ~24% YOY -- impressive. Tells her that AI investments already translating into real dollars. Revenue growth of 20% still expected this year.

Fundamental ranking of 9/10, analysts rate it Buy or Outperform and see 35% upside from here.

His preference in the digital ad space is GOOG, but he likes this name. Unique platform, generates a lot of value. Massive user base allows it to monetize quite well.

Loves it. Big differentiator is that they actually use data services and computational power for themselves. Good runway to analysts' price target. Definitely pick up 1/3 here, another ~$635, and again at $605.

Is up only 1% the past year, but has the cheapest PE of the Mag 7 and is a cash-flow machine. A lot of the AI is not priced in, but are investing heavily in AI. They are sharp people. He bought this on a pullback.

Still one of the best ways to play AI, seeing the evidence in its revenues. Guiding to 30+% revenue growth next quarter. Curated ads via AI are working. Core business is doing so well. Reasonable valuation.

They reported today a big top and bottom line beat and though they will spend big on capex, manager is confident it can still grow operating income. Shares are up after hours.

It reports this week. It fell 11% the last time it reported and is -16% since August's highs. Is selling under 23x PE, cheap, but to turn around it needs a new catalyst. He expects them to report great numbers, especially their core ad business. But last time they reported strong numbers and it didn't matter, because Wall Street only cared that they raised their capex to fund a massive data centre build-out--which crushed the stock. So, when they report, the big question is, How much are they spending? Meta needs to show how their AI spending is paying off?

It reports Wednesday. Last quarter, CEO Zuckerberg said he would spend all he can on capex, but this time can he at least explain how he's making on the data centre build-out?

A little concerned. Last May-October the stock soared because their ad business was taking off with stellar revenue growth. Problem is Meta is adding a lot of debt, and it lacks a cloud business unlike peers like Google and Amazon. Meta is in the penalty box because their core AI model hasn't shown improvement, but they have hired an all-star development team. 

One in two human beings uses their products, incredible reach. This is a juggernaut. Is historically trading at an attractive 21x PE, though is 15% off its highs over fears they aren't dominating the AI race. But CEO Zuckerberg is competitive.

A Mag 7 that didn't do all that much over the last 12 months. Trading at 22x forward PE with about 14-15% growth. Decent PEG ratio. Stock's just slightly below 200-day MA, but that MA continues to move higher. Will be at the forefront of the AI tech revolution.

There's no better person to opine on the future of social media than a 55-year-old portfolio manager ;)  Has 3B monthly active users, yet his children say they don't know these people. His firm is actually using META more to make people aware of the firm's presence. Potential AI winner.

Added on recent pullback, remains one of her core long-term growth holdings. Key story is engagement, now reaching ~3.5B people daily. Operating margins still ~40%. AI is reinforcing its core business, even if spending stays elevated in near term (which pressures margins short-term). AI is improving how ads are targeted and priced, and is opening new monetization paths.

Regulatory risk to heavy capital spending, but scale, data, and cash generation gives it room to invest through the cycle. Rates 9/10 on fundamentals. Now has ~5% weight, and would trim once it reaches target price. Analysts' price target is about 26% upside from here.