Meta Platforms (META) November 2025 Stock Analysis: AI-Fueled Growth vs. Rising Costs

Meta Stock Price Today, November 18, 2025: Why META Is Hovering Around $600

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) is trading in the low‑$600 range today, November 18, 2025, as Wall Street continues to digest the company’s massive artificial‑intelligence spending plans, mixed analyst sentiment, and a choppy tech market.

Below is a structured look at Meta’s stock price today, the latest news from November 18, 2025, and what’s driving investor sentiment around META.


Meta stock price snapshot for November 18, 2025

Ticker: Meta Platforms, Inc. — NASDAQ: META

  • Last official close (most recent available):
    Meta last officially closed at $602.01 per share, down 1.22% on the day (‑$7.45), according to multiple historical and market‑data providers tracking the November 17, 2025 Nasdaq close.  [1]
  • Recent trading range around today (off-hours):
    In the latest extended‑hours session, Meta traded around $600.50 with an after‑hours range between roughly $599 and $602.49, based on data updated at 8:00 p.m. ET.  [2]
  • Pre‑market indication for November 18, 2025:
    A pre‑market quote from earlier today showed META at about $598.83, roughly 0.5% below the last official close.  [3]
  • Market capitalization:
    At a share price around $600, Meta’s market value sits near $1.5 trillion, keeping it firmly in the “trillion‑dollar club.”  [4]
  • 52‑week range and context:
    • 52‑week high: around $796 per share, reached in August 2025  [5]
    • 52‑week low: roughly $479.80  [6]

At roughly $600, META sits about 24% below its 52‑week high and roughly 25% above its 52‑week low, underlining how far the stock has pulled back from this year’s peak while still being well off the bottom. (Calculations based on the price and range data above.)

Important: Intraday and after‑hours prices change throughout the session. Figures here reflect the latest delayed and extended‑hours data available at the time of writing and are not real‑time quotes.


How Meta stock got here: strong Q3, huge AI capex and a sharp pullback

Meta’s share price action into November 18 can’t be understood without its third‑quarter 2025 earnings and AI spending story.

Q3 2025: impressive growth, expensive ambitions

In early November, Meta reported a powerful Q3:

  • Revenue: about $51.2 billion, up roughly 26% year‑over‑year, driven largely by advertising revenue of about $50.1 billion across Facebook, Instagram and Threads.  [7]
  • Profitability: despite a roughly 32% jump in expenses, operating margins stayed near 40%, showing that Meta is still highly profitable even as it plows money into AI and infrastructure.  [8]

At the same time, Meta guided to eye‑watering capital expenditures:

  • Management expects $70–72 billion of capex in 2025, much of it tied to AI data centers and infrastructure.  [9]
  • In early November, Meta also said it plans to invest about $600 billion in the United States by 2028, including large‑scale AI data centers and related infrastructure to support its super‑intelligence ambitions.  [10]

Fundamentally, business is strong — but the scale and duration of spending has spooked parts of the market.

From AI darling to “too much, too fast”?

Several pieces of recent analysis highlight why META has sold off sharply from its highs even as the business performs well:

  • A recent Trefis note points out that Meta’s stock has fallen more than 15% over the last 21 trading days, attributing the slide to renewed worries about slowing user growth and rising spend.  [11]
  • Commentators at The Motley Fool and others have repeatedly stressed that the drop is less about weak results and more about massive AI‑related capex, which investors fear could pressure free cash flow if the payoff takes longer than hoped.  [12]
  • A Reuters report on November 14 detailed how hedge fund Tiger Global Management slashed its Meta stake by about 63% in Q3, a high‑profile example of big money trimming exposure after the spending ramp‑up.  [13]

Put together, Meta enters today’s session as a highly profitable AI and advertising giant whose share price is being held back by concerns about its aggressive long‑term investment plans.


Today’s Meta stock news (November 18, 2025)

November 18 brings a fresh wave of headlines that help explain why META is still stuck around the $600 mark instead of snapping back toward its highs.

1. Tech markets are wobbling, and Meta is at the center of the story

A widely cited Bloomberg piece today warns that U.S. stocks are “running out of time” for a year‑end rally without help from big tech, noting that gains in technology heavyweights — including Facebook‑owner Meta — have stalled even though they were a major driver earlier in the year.  [14]

At the same time:

  • A MarketWatch report highlights a wave of AI‑linked bond issuance, including Amazon’s large debt deal, and points out that credit spreads for major AI and cloud players have begun to widen as supply increases and investors reassess risk.  [15]
  • UBS notes that AI capex is still ramping across the hyperscalers: Alphabet now expects $91–93 billion in 2025 capex, Meta is targeting up to about $72 billion, Microsoft is planning to double data‑center capacity over two years, and Amazon is projecting about $125 billion in 2025 capex.  [16]

The message for META holders: Meta isn’t alone in spending aggressively on AI infrastructure — but that entire spending wave is fostering nervousness about tech valuations and leverage, which weighs on the whole sector.

2. Wall Street and TV pundits are split on META

Opinions on Meta are sharply divided today.

Jim Cramer: still a believer in Zuckerberg

In a widely circulated segment picked up by Insider Monkey, TV personality Jim Cramer reiterated his faith in Meta, telling viewers that he “totally believe[s] in what Mark Zuckerberg is doing”, framing the AI and metaverse push as a long‑term bet rather than a near‑term mistake.  [17]

Cramer’s stance reinforces the view of many bulls: that the current sell‑off is an opportunity rather than a warning sign, so long as Meta continues to grow revenue and profits at its current pace.

TipRanks / Needham: cautious on strategy and capital allocation

On the other side, Needham analyst Laura Martin has maintained a Hold rating, according to a TipRanks piece published today that emphasizes concerns about “strategic diffusion and capital allocation” at Meta.  [18]

In essence, the cautious camp worries that:

  • Meta is attempting too many large initiatives at once (social apps, AI infrastructure, metaverse hardware, AR/VR, messaging monetization and more).
  • The sheer scale of capex could dilute shareholder returns if projects don’t deliver the expected AI and ad monetization uplift.  [19]

Other commentary: opportunity or value trap?

Recent analysis adds more color:

  • Motley Fool article over the weekend argued that Meta could be the “best trillion‑dollar stock to buy now”, noting that Wall Street’s average price target implies roughly 40% upside over the next year from current levels.  [20]
  • Another Fool column asks “Why Is Wall Street So Bearish on Meta?”, again pointing to the tension between strong Q3 fundamentals and investor discomfort with multi‑year AI and metaverse spending.  [21]
  • A separate explainer published today describes “high‑stakes competition in digital advertising”, highlighting pressure on Meta from Amazon and The Trade Desk as they fight for ad dollars in 2025.  [22]

The result: sentiment is noisy. Some see META as a beaten‑down AI leader with clear upside; others see a cash‑rich company at risk of over‑building.

3. Hedge funds and advisors reshuffle their Meta stakes

November 18 has also brought a flurry of 13F‑related headlines from investment firms adjusting their META exposure:

  • Sustainable Insight Capital Management boosted its Meta holdings by about 304% in Q2, to 6,712 shares worth roughly $4.95 million, making META around 2.2% of its portfolio and its 11th‑largest holding, according to MarketBeat’s latest write‑up today.  [23]
  • Recent filings show a mixed but active institutional picture around Meta:
    • Souders Financial Advisors reported increasing its META position (“Shares Bought”).  [24]
    • Soltis Investment Advisors added to its stake, acquiring additional Meta shares.  [25]
    • Pekin Hardy Strauss trimmed its META holdings by about 43.5% in the second quarter.  [26]
    • Savant Capital LLC cut its position by roughly 5.3%[27]
    • First Eagle Investment Management is also reported as having lowered its stake.  [28]

These moves underline how:

  • Some funds see the recent weakness as a buying opportunity, significantly increasing exposure.
  • Others are locking in gains or managing risk amid volatility and uncertainty around long‑term AI spending.

Net‑net, institutional positioning looks active and somewhat divided, mirroring the analyst debate.

4. Product and ESG updates: from stolen Reels to solar power

Beyond the stock tape, Meta also generated operational headlines today that could matter over the longer run.

New mobile tool to fight stolen Reels

A Dataconomy report today highlights that Meta has launched “Facebook content protection”, a mobile tool that helps creators detect unauthorized use of their original Reels on Facebook.  [29]

According to the report:

  • Creators can get alerts when their content is reused without permission.
  • They can then block visibility on Facebook and Instagram, allow reuse with attribution, or track performance through attribution links.  [30]

This move supports Meta’s broader push to improve creator tools and protect intellectual property, an important factor in keeping high‑value creators on Facebook and Instagram in the face of competition from TikTok and YouTube.

100‑MW solar farm backing a Meta facility

A regional energy report notes the completion of a new 100‑megawatt solar farm near Monroe, Louisiana, built in support of a nearby Meta facility, with electricity expected to reach the local Ouachita Parish grid by year‑end.  [31]

For investors, this reinforces Meta’s strategy of:

  • Expanding power‑hungry AI and data‑center operations, while
  • Pairing them with renewable‑energy projects to offset environmental impact and respond to ESG concerns.

Talent and regulation in the background

  • An analysis of U.S. H‑1B visa petitions shows that approvals for Indian IT firms have fallen sharply, while companies such as Amazon and Meta remain among the top sponsors in 2025, underscoring the intense competition for AI and software talent.  [32]
  • Separately, a Bloomberg Government piece discusses how Congress is ramping up oversight of AI chatbots and related technologies, as lawmakers grow more concerned about risks to children and other users. While not solely focused on Meta, it adds to the regulatory overhang facing all major tech and AI platforms.  [33]

What analysts are forecasting for Meta stock

Despite recent volatility, Wall Street still sees meaningful upside for META from today’s ~$600 level — but not without risk.

  • Consensus price target:
    Markets Insider data shows that about 95 analysts covering Meta have a median 12‑month price target around $786.66, with estimates ranging from roughly $610 on the low end to over $1,100 on the high end.  [34]Compared with a share price near $600, that median target implies around 30% upside if Meta executes in line with expectations (184.65 ÷ 602 ≈ 30.7%).
  • Recent target tweaks:
    • After Q3 earnings, Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating but cut its target from $900 to $810.
    • Bernstein maintained an Outperform rating while nudging its target from $900 to $870[35]

This combination — still‑bullish targets but gently drifting down — reflects a market that:

  • Accepts Meta’s dominance in social advertising and its growing AI capabilities, but
  • Demands proof of disciplined capital allocation during the AI build‑out.

Key takeaways for Meta (META) on November 18, 2025

Putting it all together, here’s what Meta’s stock price and news flow look like today:

  1. Price around $600:
    META is trading in the low‑$600 range, close to its latest official close of $602.01 and well below its 2025 highs near $800.  [36]
  2. Short‑term pressure, long‑term bets:
    The stock has dropped more than 15% in recent weeks as investors worry about $70–72 billion in 2025 capex and a $600 billion U.S. investment plan through 2028, even though Q3 revenue and margins remain strong.  [37]
  3. Mixed sentiment:
    • Bulls like Jim Cramer see Meta as a core long‑term AI winner and back Zuckerberg’s strategy.  [38]
    • More cautious analysts worry about too many simultaneous bets and capex that could outpace returns.  [39]
  4. Institutional investors are actively repositioning:
    Some funds (e.g., Sustainable Insight Capital) are adding aggressively, while others (like Tiger Global, Pekin Hardy Strauss, and First Eagle) have cut positions, reflecting a genuine split in institutional conviction.  [40]
  5. Fundamentals still look solid:
    Meta continues to grow revenue at a mid‑20% pace with ~40% operating margins, has begun paying a quarterly dividend (about $0.525 per share), and remains highly profitable even after stepping up AI spending.  [41]
  6. Street still sees upside — but not without volatility:
    With a median target near $787, Wall Street expects Meta stock to trade materially higher than today’s level over the next 12 months, though that view is increasingly nuanced and contingent on disciplined execution.  [42]

Not investment advice: This article is for informational and news purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Always do your own research or consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Meta Stock: Why This Isn’t the Dip to Buy (Yet) 📉

References

1. finance.yahoo.com, 2. public.com, 3. www.marketwatch.com, 4. www.wallstreetzen.com, 5. www.tradingview.com, 6. www.investing.com, 7. acquirersmultiple.com, 8. acquirersmultiple.com, 9. www.fool.com, 10. www.reuters.com, 11. www.trefis.com, 12. www.fool.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.bloomberg.com, 15. www.marketwatch.com, 16. www.ubs.com, 17. finviz.com, 18. www.tipranks.com, 19. www.tipranks.com, 20. www.fool.com, 21. www.fool.com, 22. inews.zoombangla.com, 23. www.marketbeat.com, 24. www.marketbeat.com, 25. www.marketbeat.com, 26. www.marketbeat.com, 27. www.marketbeat.com, 28. www.marketbeat.com, 29. dataconomy.com, 30. dataconomy.com, 31. www.1012industryreport.com, 32. www.indiatoday.in, 33. news.bgov.com, 34. markets.businessinsider.com, 35. finviz.com, 36. finance.yahoo.com, 37. www.trefis.com, 38. www.insidermonkey.com, 39. www.tipranks.com, 40. www.marketbeat.com, 41. acquirersmultiple.com, 42. markets.businessinsider.com

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