New York, Jan 18, 2026, 09:47 ET — Markets have closed.
- Meta shares closed at $620.25 before the U.S. heads into a four-day trading week.
- A filing revealed pay details for new president Dina Powell McCormick, featuring $60 million in equity awards.
- Meta’s upcoming earnings report on Jan. 28 stands as the next significant catalyst for the stock.
Meta Platforms shares ended Friday at $620.25, fluctuating between $620.08 and $629.08 throughout the session as investors digested a steady flow of corporate and policy news from the Facebook and Instagram parent. 1
Why it matters now: U.S. markets jump back Tuesday after Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day break, leaving traders with a tighter window to gear up for a late-January wave of major earnings reports. 2
Meta faces a tricky situation. Its stock remains sharply reactive to any shifts in sentiment about spending on new products or the expenses tied to regulators and lawsuits, even if revenue isn’t immediately affected.
A Reuters brief referencing an SEC filing revealed that Meta’s new president and vice chairman, Dina Powell McCormick, will earn a $1 million base salary, plus a $2 million sign-on bonus. She will also receive restricted stock units valued initially at $60 million. 3
Meta took to its own platform this week to respond to lawsuits concerning teen well-being. In a blog post dated Jan. 16, the company claimed recent legal actions “misrepresent our commitment” and stressed the complexity of the issue. It also highlighted a range of teen-focused product controls developed over the past decade. 4
That legal battle isn’t new, yet it keeps cropping up among investors since it can trigger both one-off charges and steady, creeping rises in compliance and product development expenses.
The downside is clear: if courts or legislators demand wider design changes, or if advertisers retreat, Meta’s margins could face significant strain while the company ramps up spending on new projects.
Meta and Alphabet still dominate the digital ad space, with traders frequently using one’s results to gauge the other’s performance. Any sign of softness in ad pricing or demand usually ripples quickly through the sector.
Meta’s next big event is its quarterly earnings report. The company plans to unveil its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results after the market closes on Wednesday, Jan. 28, followed by a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET. 5
