New York, January 7, 2026, 15:28 EST — Regular session
- Meta shares slid about 1.7% in afternoon trade after a report said China is reviewing its Manus AI startup buy.
- Separate headlines on smart-glasses supply and a new chief legal officer kept the focus on execution and regulation.
- Analysts’ average 12-month target sits near $822, with earnings later this month the next big test.
Meta Platforms (META.O) shares fell about 1.7% to $649.66 on Wednesday afternoon after a report said Chinese officials are reviewing the company’s purchase of artificial intelligence startup Manus. The Financial Times said the review could hinge on whether the transaction required an export license under Chinese law; Meta and Manus did not respond to requests for comment. 1
The headline matters now because investors are trying to pin down what, exactly, Meta gets for its AI spending and deal-making in 2026, and what it might cost to keep it all moving. A cross-border review is the kind of thing that can stretch from paperwork into politics.
For the Meta stock price forecast into the next quarter, it is less about one product cycle and more about friction. Regulatory heat in two jurisdictions and a big AI bet can turn a tidy earnings story into a stop-start one.
Meta is also juggling hardware momentum with supply limits. On Tuesday, it paused the international rollout of its Ray-Ban Display augmented-reality smart glasses, saying inventory was “extremely limited” and U.S. demand pushed waitlists “well into 2026”; it also flagged new features such as a teleprompter mode and expanded pedestrian navigation at CES in Las Vegas. 2
Legal risk stayed in view as well. Meta said it appointed C.J. Mahoney, a former senior legal executive at Microsoft and a onetime U.S. trade official, as chief legal officer, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Mahoney brings “world-class legal expertise” and “deep insight” into global regulation. 3
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday appeared skeptical of efforts by Meta and other social-media firms to end more than 2,200 lawsuits accusing platforms of being designed to addict young users. The companies — including Snap’s Snapchat, Alphabet’s YouTube and TikTok owner ByteDance — argue Section 230, a 1996 law that can shield online services from liability tied to third-party content, should block the claims. 4
On the valuation side, forecasts still lean higher. StockAnalysis.com data shows an average 12-month price target of $822.30 and a “strong buy” consensus; the shares have traded between $479.80 and $796.25 over the past 52 weeks, leaving traders focused on whether the stock can reclaim the $660 area and hold above the mid-$640s. 5
The broader tape has not been much help for quiet trading. U.S. stocks were mixed but near record highs as investors rotated back into AI-linked megacaps, and Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, said, “Investors have come into 2026 with a similar playbook to last year: Buy tech and forget about it.” 6
But the downside case is not hard to sketch: the China review drags on, the U.S. litigation track stays costly, and higher capex — capital spending — pinches margins if ad demand slows. Meta has already told investors to expect bigger capital spending in 2026 as it builds AI data-center capacity. 7
Next up is earnings and guidance, with the calendar still not locked. Wall Street Horizon lists Meta’s next results as unconfirmed for Jan. 28 after the market close, and investors will be watching for any shift in tone on AI spending, the Manus deal and smart-glasses supply. 8
