Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)

1 out of 7 globally use this company. This is the most known platform. You have Instagram and Whatsapp. It really comes down to how they monetize that user base. Their user install base is large enough that when they do start to monetize these things, their growth per user will increase. They are growing into their valuation.

Starbucks (SBUX-Q) or Facebook (FB-Q)? He likes both. They are both very strong stories for different reasons. This company’s strength has been that they are not only the leader in social media, but have grown their revenues very substantially from mobile applications. This is a very, very strong name. Both companies have very exciting growth stories. If he had to make a choice, it would probably be this one over Starbucks.

He would still buy it here. They will be a dominant player. The user interface and the number of users are phenomenal and they continue to monetize them. He would own it as a pair with Google (Alphabet Inc) GOOGL-Q. He owns both.

You are investing for capital appreciation. If you go back two or three years ago, it was the ability to monetize. It has been an interesting growth trajectory. At this point they are coming through. 53% free cash flow growth. It needs a bit of a push to breakout, but they are doing the right things.

He got this wrong for so long. They have done a fantastic job and now have a big revenue generating machine. Instagram should start to generate real revenues this year. He appreciates the strength and diversity of their user base.

They have 1.5 billion active users. It is monetizing its initiatives at an attractive rate. All their apps have large numbers of active users. A huge amount of their advertising revenue is from mobile users.

It is here to stay. It is dominant and growing. They have half the Internet users in the world and they are on 20-40 minutes per day. There will be less and less reasons to leave it. They are successfully monetizing their subscribers. Earnings will be up 33%. It is comparatively cheap.

The US market is a bifurcated market, and if you have growth, which this one does, the market loves you. It’s where growth is and they are going to beat their earnings estimates every quarter.

About a 50% growth rate. Hugely profitable. Gross margins and net margins are extremely high. Other than Google (GOOGL-Q), this company has really got mobile and advertising in a tremendous way, and as time goes on, both Google and Facebook are going to continue to grow their advertising revenues. They are just now beginning to monetize Instagram. Investors are completely underestimating how attractive the Instagram model is going to be for corporations to advertise their products.

1.5 billion users, which is part of the thesis of why he owns the stock. It is the best stock to own in the social media space. It gives you the opportunity to accumulate ownership in the world’s largest social media company. They are forecasted to grow their long-term earnings by 25% a year.

(Covered Calls. He is playing the last half of the year by taking some option premiums in with he expects that these 3 Top Picks will hold their own or rise. Yield on the total return is pretty attractive. Thinks we could be in a flat market until the end of the year.) The shares are at around $95 and you are selling a $100 Call. This is a little more volatile so you are getting a higher premium. There are no dividends. If it closes above $100 in January, it gives you better than 11%. If it stays the same, your return is over 5%. This is taxed as a capital gain in Canada.

A large holding of his. He is not afraid to go with what is working. A great job of mobile advertising. They continue to execute well and do a great job. Pick your stop. They have some natural tailwinds.

They have certainly disrupted a lot of the industry on the ability to advertise. The problem for her is the valuation, which is quite rich. You are paying a lot today for their ability to monetize the usage. These are not the types of bets that she likes to make.

Buy, Sell or Hold Facebook? Is there a withholding tax on the gains? There is no withholding tax on gains when you sell US stocks.There is a withholding tax when you sell dividends. He doesn't own Facebook. It is a difficult company to analyse .He gives them a tremendous amount of credit that they are able to make money off mobile devices. They have 1.6 billion users, are crushing twitter. “They are the game in town.” It is an expensive stock, but he is not buying at this price.

After the IPO it was out of favour as people were concerned about the transition from desktop to mobile, and how they were going to handle it. They have done an amazing job. Average smart phone users are on the site about 45 minutes of daily use. He likes the stock. The challenge has been that it is expensive, but it has grown into that number. Trading around 30-35 times next year’s earnings, and if you are going to grow 40%, that is fairly reasonable.