Meta Platforms (META) Stock: AI Spending Fears, Legal Victory and 2026 Targets

As the final month of 2025 begins, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) is back in the spotlight — not because the share price is crashing or soaring, but because the story around the stock is getting more complicated.

At Friday’s close on November 28, 2025, Meta stock traded at $647.95, up about 2.2% on the day, giving the company a market cap of roughly $1.85 trillion and a trailing P/E around 31.5. ^[1] Despite that enormous valuation, Meta’s shares are only up in the mid–single digits so far in 2025, lagging an S&P 500 that’s gained more than 15% this year. ^[2] And over the past month, META has fallen roughly 10–15% from post‑earnings highs, making it one of the more volatile mega‑cap tech names. ^[3]

At the same time, fresh news on November 30, 2025 is reshaping the narrative: big institutional investors are repositioning, Wall Street is split over Meta’s aggressive AI spending, regulators just lost a major antitrust case against the company, and new investigations about scam ads are raising reputational risks.

Below is a structured, news‑driven look at Meta stock as of 30 November 2025, tailored for readers following META on Google News and Discover.

META Stock Today: Price, Momentum and Volatility

Last close (Nov 28, 2025): $647.95
Daily move: +$14.14 (+~2.2%)
Intraday range: $634.68 – $648.08
Market cap: ≈ $1.85 trillion
Trailing EPS / P/E: EPS ≈ $22.58, P/E ≈ 31.5 ^[4]

From a performance standpoint:

Year‑to‑date 2025: Meta shares are up only mid‑single digits, while the S&P 500 has climbed about 15%. ^[5]
Last month: META has dropped around 13% over the past 30 days, part of a broader pullback in AI‑heavy tech. ^[6]

That sell‑off was triggered largely by Meta’s Q3 2025 earnings guidance: the company beat revenue expectations but shocked investors with plans to ramp AI‑related capital expenditures yet again in 2026, echoing worries from the company’s earlier metaverse spending cycle. ^[7]

November 30, 2025 News: Institutions Shuffle META, AI Chip Deal Chatter Builds

Big money rotates in and out of Meta

Regulatory filings and institutional‑flow round‑ups published today show that large investors are actively rebalancing around META:

Artisan Partners, Ensign Peak Advisors, Quilter Plc and Howe & Rusling have all disclosed higher stakes in Meta, adding shares during recent quarters. ^[8]
At the same time, Bradyco Inc. and Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings reported cutting their positions, locking in gains after a huge multi‑year run. ^[9]

Taken together, today’s flow data paints a picture of rotation rather than panic: some funds are treating the recent dip as a buying opportunity, while others are trimming exposure as AI‑spending uncertainty grows.

Speculation grows around Google AI chips powering Meta’s next leg

A widely read Seeking Alpha article late on Saturday highlighted negotiations between Meta and Alphabet over using Google’s custom TPU AI chips to power Meta’s next wave of AI workloads. ^[10] Separate market coverage this week noted that Nvidia shares sold off after reports that Meta was considering using Google’s AI hardware for some of its data‑center needs. ^[11]

If a substantial deal is finalized, it could:

Diversify Meta’s AI compute away from Nvidia;
Potentially reduce long‑term infrastructure costs;
Deepen strategic ties between two advertising giants, which may raise fresh antitrust and competitive questions.

Nothing is binding yet, but today’s commentary is framing this potential chip partnership as a key 2026–2028 catalyst for both Meta and Alphabet.

Fresh bullish calls: “Best stocks to buy before 2026”

On the bullish side, a new Motley Fool article on November 30 named Meta and Circle Internet Group as two of the best stocks to buy with $5,000 before 2026, citing:

Meta’s dominant social‑media ad business;
Strong free‑cash‑flow generation;
The optionality of AI and hardware bets like Ray‑Ban Meta glasses. ^[12]

Meanwhile, a 24/7 Wall St. report this week projected that Meta’s stock could reach about $875 in 2025 and climb above $1,200 by 2030, driven by continued ad‑revenue growth, aggressive AI investments and rising free cash flow. ^[13]

These optimistic outlooks stand in contrast to a growing chorus of analysts who worry that Meta’s AI spending curve is steepening faster than its near‑term monetization prospects.

Q3 2025 Earnings: Huge Ad Growth, One‑Off Tax Hit and a Massive AI Bill

Meta’s third‑quarter 2025 results (reported October 29) are still the backbone of every META stock debate. ^[14]

Key numbers:

Revenue: $51.24 billion, up about 26% year over year, and ahead of Wall Street estimates. ^[15]
Non‑GAAP EPS: ~$7.25, beating consensus and up strongly versus 2024. ^[16]
GAAP EPS: Only $1.05, because of a $15.93 billion one‑time, non‑cash tax charge tied to changes in U.S. corporate tax law. ^[17]
Operating margin: Around 40%, down a bit as costs and expenses grew faster than revenue. ^[18]
Family of Apps (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.):
- Accounts for about 99% of revenue;
- Ad revenue grew roughly 25% year over year;
- Daily active people reached 3.54 billion, up about 8%. ^[19]
Reality Labs (VR/AR and metaverse):
- Revenue less than 1% of the total but up sharply year over year;
- Still losing about $4.4 billion per quarter. ^[20]

Meta’s AI and engagement engine is clearly working:

Ad impressions across the family of apps grew double‑digits;
Average price per ad increased about 10%;
Reels is now running at an ad‑revenue run‑rate north of $50 billion annually, according to Zacks’ breakdown. ^[21]

But the guidance section is where the market flinched:

Q4 2025 revenue guidance: $56–59 billion, with continued strong ad growth but softer Reality Labs revenue. ^[22]
Full‑year 2025 total expenses: now expected at $116–118 billion, up about 22–24% year on year. ^[23]
2025 capex: raised again to $70–72 billion. ^[24]
And crucially, management warned that 2026 expenses and capital expenditures will grow significantly faster than in 2025, driven by AI infrastructure and cloud costs, as well as rising compensation for AI talent. ^[25]

That last point is exactly what spooked investors — and sets up the current bull‑versus‑bear battle around META.

Market Reaction: AI Spending Overhang vs Long‑Term Growth Story

Immediately after the earnings call and AI‑spending outlook, Meta’s stock fell more than 10%, with mainstream financial coverage highlighting that the drop came despite a strong revenue beat. ^[26]

Bearish interpretation: “Superintelligence” with unknown payback

On October 30, Oppenheimer downgraded Meta from Outperform to Perform, citing concern over:

“Significant” AI investments in Meta’s Superintelligence initiative with what the firm described as an “unknown revenue opportunity”;
Capex and operating‑expense guidance that came in around 7% above market expectations;
Management’s signal that 2026 capex growth will be “notably larger” than 2025, extending the high‑investment cycle. ^[27]

Oppenheimer compared the AI capex surge to Meta’s heavy, early‑2020s metaverse spending, raising the risk that the company again invests far ahead of clear monetization. Still, the firm acknowledged that:

Meta’s ad revenue grew about 25% in Q3, accelerating from Q2;
Gross margins remain very high, near 80%;
Cash flows can comfortably fund interest and much of the investment. ^[28]

Other analysts — including Erste Group and at least one major Wall Street house covered in Yahoo’s “Meta downgraded, Coinbase upgraded” note — also shifted ratings from Buy to Hold after the earnings call, with AI spending and regulatory uncertainty cited as key overhangs. ^[29]

Zacks currently rates Meta as a Hold (Rank #3), noting that while earnings estimates have actually moved up since Q3 thanks to strong ad momentum, the stock scores poorly on near‑term momentum after its post‑earnings slide. ^[30]

Bullish interpretation: ad machine, cash machine, still not fully priced?

On the positive side:

A MarketWatch piece highlighted a new analyst “defender” who set an $800 price target, implying just over 30% upside from recent levels. ^[31]
MarketBeat’s consensus shows Meta rated a “Moderate Buy” based on 50 analysts:
- 42 Buys or Strong Buys,
- 8 Holds,
- 0 Sells.
  The average 12‑month target is $823.93, about 27% above the current share price, with targets ranging from $605 to $1,117. ^[32]
24/7 Wall St.’s model is even more optimistic, projecting $875 in 2025 and a potential climb above $1,200 by 2030, assuming sustained ad‑revenue growth and steadily rising earnings per share. ^[33]

In short, the Street is split: a minority sees Meta’s AI bill as an unjustified drag on returns, while the majority still believes the company can grow into that capex thanks to its enormous audience, ad engine and new AI products.

Regulation and Reputation: Scam‑Ad Revelations vs a Major FTC Win

Scam‑ad investigations: a big PR and regulatory risk

In early November, Reuters published an in‑depth investigation based on internal Meta documents suggesting that the company projected around 10% of its 2024 revenue — roughly $16 billion — would come from ads for scams and banned goods. The documents cited also estimate that Meta platforms show users around 15 billion high‑risk scam ads every day, and that Meta earns about $7 billion in annualized revenue from this especially risky category. ^[34]

ABC News and other outlets, drawing on the same document cache, noted that internal research estimated Meta’s platforms were involved in roughly one‑third of successful scams in the U.S., though the company strongly disputes that characterization. ^[35]

Meta’s response, as quoted by ABC, is that these figures are rough, internal estimates and “overly inclusive,” arguing that the documents present a selective and misleading view of its approach to fraud. The company says it is:

“Aggressively” fighting scams because neither users nor legitimate advertisers want this content;
Has reduced user reports of scam ads by 58% over the past 18 months;
Has removed more than 134 million pieces of scam‑ad content so far in 2025. ^[36]

For investors, the take‑away is not that Meta will happily run scam ads forever, but that:

Scam‑ad monetization has been material in the past;
There is real regulatory and litigation risk if authorities decide that Meta benefited from fraud at scale;
Cleaning this up may require product changes that hurt short‑term revenue.

Ongoing regulatory headwinds in Europe and the US

Meta’s own Q2 and Q3 earnings commentary explicitly warns about:

Potential European Commission demands to further modify Meta’s “Less Personalized Ads” (LPA) product under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which could significantly hurt European ad revenue;
Multiple youth‑related trials in the U.S. scheduled for 2026, which management says could ultimately result in a “material loss.” ^[37]

Both risks are difficult to model but loom in the background as part of the “regulatory discount” investors apply to META.

Legal bright spot: FTC loses monopolization case

On November 18, 2025, Meta scored a major legal victory when Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for D.C. ruled that the Federal Trade Commission failed to prove that Meta monopolized “personal social networking” via its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. ^[38]

According to a detailed summary by law firm Skadden:

The court held that the FTC’s market definition was outdated and failed to account for competition from TikTok and YouTube;
It noted that Meta’s market share in a broader social‑media market (including TikTok and YouTube) is now below 50% and declining;
The judge emphasized that Section 13(b) of the FTC Act requires forward‑looking evidence of ongoing or imminent harm, which the FTC did not provide. ^[39]

This decision doesn’t remove all regulatory risk, but it significantly reduces the probability of a forced breakup of Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp based on this particular case — a clear positive for long‑term Meta shareholders.

Product and AI Roadmap: Ads Automation, Andromeda and New Experiences

Even as lawyers and regulators circle, Meta is rolling out a steady stream of product updates that matter for future revenue.

Ads & marketing: automation first

A November 28 round‑up from SocialBee and Social Media Today highlights several important Meta Ads updates for November 2025: ^[40]

Advantage+ automation is now the default for new ad campaigns in Ads Manager, making AI‑driven optimization the starting point rather than an optional feature.
Advantage+ Leads campaigns are now available globally, aimed at helping advertisers generate and qualify leads more efficiently.
New features are being tested to let advertisers:
- Automatically chat with new leads via Messenger (“chat with your leads on Messenger”);
- Generate leads via both websites and instant forms in a single flow;
- Verify leads using tools like SMS verification and work‑email checks, with address verification in testing.

Separately, a detailed Medium piece on “Meta Marketing Updates: November 2025 Edition” describes “Meta Andromeda” — the internal architecture powering many of these changes — as an AI‑first, signal‑based, privacy‑resilient ad system built around automatic optimization instead of granular manual targeting. ^[41]

This shift reinforces the core bull case: if Meta can use AI to better match ads with users while respecting privacy constraints, it may be able to charge more per impression and maintain growth even in a slower overall ad market.

Commerce & consumer products: AI everywhere

On the consumer side, Meta’s Newsroom has highlighted updates like a revamped Facebook Marketplace experience, promising new AI integrations and collaborative buying tools designed to make shopping more social and frictionless. ^[42]

Combine that with:

Ongoing investment in Ray‑Ban Meta AI glasses and other wearables;
The launch of Meta Superintelligence Labs, highlighted by CEO Mark Zuckerberg in both Q2 and Q3 earnings commentary; ^[43]
Continued expansion of Meta AI, Llama‑based models and AI chatbots across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp; ^[44]

…and it’s clear Meta is trying to build an ecosystem of AI‑enhanced experiences that positions the company not just as a social‑media giant, but as an infrastructure‑level AI and hardware platform.

Valuation Snapshot and Analyst Targets

At roughly $648 per share, Meta trades on: ^[45]

Trailing P/E: ~31.5;
Forward P/E (using 24/7 Wall St.’s 2025 EPS estimate of ~$24.12): mid‑20s; ^[46]
Dividend yield: ~0.3%, based on an annualized dividend of $2.08 per share introduced this year; ^[47]
Shareholder returns: Meta has combined its dividend with tens of billions of dollars in buybacks; Q2 and Q3 alone included over $12 billion returned via repurchases and dividends. ^[48]

On the Wall Street target side:

MarketBeat analyst consensus target: $823.93 (≈27% upside), range $605–$1,117. Rating: Moderate Buy. ^[49]
247WallSt median one‑year target: ~$838.14; their own model target: ~$875.46 (≈38% upside). ^[50]
MarketWatch “defender” target: $800, just over 30% above current pricing. ^[51]

For a mega‑cap with mid‑20s EPS growth expectations, those multiples are not cheap, but they’re also not obviously outrageous if Meta can successfully monetize its AI investments and avoid major regulatory hits.

Key Takeaways for META Investors as of November 30, 2025

Bullish points:

Meta remains a cash‑generating machine, with free cash flow in the tens of billions and operating margins around 40% even while investing aggressively. ^[52]
The ad business is accelerating, with strong growth in impressions, pricing, and Reels monetization, plus global expansion of AI‑driven Advantage+ campaigns. ^[53]
Meta just scored a major antitrust win against the FTC, sharply reducing the risk of a forced breakup based on that case. ^[54]
Wall Street’s consensus is still firmly positive, with no outright Sell ratings in MarketBeat’s tally and average targets implying mid‑to‑high‑20s percentage upside. ^[55]

Bearish points:

Management has committed to years of elevated AI capex, with 2026 spending expected to grow even faster than 2025, putting pressure on near‑term free cash flow and returns. ^[56]
Recent downgrades from Oppenheimer and others highlight concern that Meta may be repeating its metaverse strategy: invest heavily first, explain monetization later. ^[57]
Investigative reports about scam‑ad revenue and internal estimates that Meta’s platforms are implicated in a large share of global fraud cases could trigger regulatory or reputational backlash, or force product changes that slow revenue growth. ^[58]
Meta still faces significant legal and policy headwinds in Europe and the U.S. around privacy, youth harm and competition — issues that can drag on sentiment for years. ^[59]

Bottom Line

As of November 30, 2025, Meta Platforms is:

A $1.8+ trillion AI‑driven ad giant with powerful growth in its core business;
A company about to spend more on AI infrastructure than many countries spend on defense;
Under intense scrutiny for how it earns that money and how its platforms affect users.

Today’s headlines — from institutional positioning and potential Google chip deals to scam‑ad investigations and a landmark FTC court win — all point to the same conclusion:

META is no longer just a social‑media stock; it’s a high‑stakes AI and regulation story.

For investors, whether Meta is a buy, sell or hold depends on your time horizon and risk tolerance:

If you believe Meta can translate AI spend into new, durable revenue streams while navigating regulatory minefields, the current pullback and the Street’s upside targets make the stock look attractive.
If you worry that AI capex will run ahead of monetization or that regulators will eventually clamp down hard on its business model, caution — or a smaller position size — may be warranted.

This article is for information and news purposes only and is not personalized investment advice. Before making any investment decisions, consider your own financial situation or consult a qualified financial adviser.

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