Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)

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.

His top holding. Meta dominates in social media with 3.5 billion users. The PE is high, so wait for a pullback. 

Would rather own Meta or Nvidia than Amazon, because the former have better multiples and earnings growth (for 2026).

Phenomenal business. Within the ad space, he owns GOOG as his go-to name. Large-cap tech has had a fantastic run on premise of what AI will be in the future -- too early to see how that will play out. 

If you own this name, just sit tight and let things play out. Great financial structure and lots of free cashflow.

There are going to be hiccups along the way, think of the volatility in tech over the last 4 years. Markets are reacting faster and faster due to ETFs and algorithmic trading -- take advantage of that when you can. If you find a name like META that you like, with great business economics and a more-or-less essential tech name, watch and wait for a bit of a pullback. 

Every other person on the planet uses a Meta app or device, powerful, an advertising engine. He likes and doesn't like the leadership, which is bold, namely the metaverse which he has never understood. But they pivoted when the metaverse didn't work. It was good that the CEO pivoted and didn't stay the course.

Is up 11% this year. Trades at 22x 2026 PE, cheap. Is spending huge on capex on data centres and power plants but have to in order to keep up with competitors.

It is probably one of the Magnificent 7 that is most vulnerable to a recession since most of its revenue comes advertising and that's the first expense to cut for companies.. When rates went up before, META went down.

It is a great company and the advertising business has upside. He feels that if Trump loses the mid-terms, big tech could drop substantially. Don't chase it - wait for a correction.

Great opportunity. His 12-month price target is $825. Got hit (and rightly so) because it surprise-announced that $15.5B tax bill, which it didn't think was significant. But everybody else did. So much going for them with AI-driven engagement on ads, infrastructure, and consumer platforms. 

Hidden gem is WhatsApp. Yield is 0.33%.

(Note the short timeframe.)  Still bullish, even with the selloff. For those who might not own it, great opportunity to get in and she added for new clients. Ad spending remains strong. Historically, its big investment cycles have paid off. That tax charge was a one-time hit. Sees over 30% upside from here. Fundamentals rank 9/10.

Not a fan. Ethics of the company are not good.

A way around this is to own EssilorLuxottica, which he does. Makes the virtual reality glasses for META. Less volatility. 

Not extremely priced, but reasonably priced. Between 20-25x PE going forward. Lots of great underlying growth. Gushing cash, and sees that ramping up. Spending a lot on AI. Whether AI works or not, still going to be gushing cash from its other businesses. GOOG has taken off, while META has actually dropped quite a bit. 

Much maligned, down 15% the past. If Meta is spending too much on capex, they can put the brakes on that and earnings will go up. But even with their capex spending, it's still selling at 18-20x PE. It's a great buying opportunity here. In AI, you can't wait to spend or else a tech company is late.

Is what Alphabet was a year ago. He totally believes in CEO Zuckerberg, agreeing with the money he is spending because he's defening a moat.