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Meta Platforms' (META) Facebook Focus to Aid Prospects

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Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) is making a strategic push to enhance Facebook’s appeal among young adults, ensuring that the platform remains relevant and engaging for the next generation of social media users.

With a clear vision of fostering social discovery, the company is evolving Facebook’s offerings to meet the dynamic preferences of young adults, leveraging advanced AI capabilities and innovative features.

Meta Platforms has tailored Facebook to support significant life transitions of young adults. This may include moving to a new city, starting college, or securing first jobs. Facebook provides these users with practical tools like Marketplace for finding affordable furniture, Groups for exploring interests and Facebook Dating for forming new connections.

These offerings have been instrumental in driving engagement, with more than 40 million young adults in the United States and Canada using the app daily, marking the highest engagement in three years.

Harnessing AI Capabilities

Meta Platforms’ focus on improving Facebook’s appeal to young adults is expected to help it gain market share among this demography. Per Statista, Snap’s (SNAP - Free Report) Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram have been the most used social media for 18-29 users.
 

 

According to a Pew Research 2023 study, Alphabet’s (GOOGL - Free Report) YouTube was the most used social media among U.S. teenagers, trailed by TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.

Meta Platforms’ commitment to social discovery, supported by cutting-edge AI and user-centric features, positions Facebook as a platform that resonates with young adults, opening their world in meaningful ways.

The company is heavily investing in AI to enhance user experience. It has upgraded its Reels and Feed ranking technologies, resulting in better content recommendations. A newly developed model architecture allows for efficient learning from large datasets, significantly improving the performance of Facebook Reels.

Over the next few years, this advanced recommendation technology will be extended across Facebook’s video ecosystem, aiming to offer the world’s best recommendation technology by 2026.

Meta Platforms has improved the video experience on Facebook, introducing a new full-screen video player and features that facilitate easy navigation through longer videos. Private video sharing has surged, prompting the addition of quick sharing options to platforms like WhatsApp.

Meta is advancing its generative AI capabilities with Meta Llama, providing users with more interactive and personalized experiences. For instance, users can receive instant answers from Meta AI, such as creating a dairy-free version of a recipe they discover on Facebook.

Furthermore, Facebook now offers more opportunities for creators to monetize their content. The introduction of Professional Mode has attracted more than 100 million daily active users in 18 months, enabling users to grow their followings and earn money based on content performance across various formats, including photos, videos and text.

Meta’s Prospects Ride on Strong Engagement

Meta Platforms’ initiatives to boost engagement for users have been driving prospects. Its innovative portfolio, which includes Threads, Reels, Llama 2, Ray-Ban Meta smart glass, and mixed reality device Quest 3, is likely to aid prospects.

Shares of the company have returned 31.9% year to date, outperforming Alphabet’s growth of 23.5%. Snap’s shares have declined 11.3% over the same time frame. The Zacks Computer & Technology sector has returned 15.3% year to date.

Meta Platforms now expects to invest significantly more over the next few years in developing more advanced models and the largest AI services in the world. However, monetization of these AI services will take considerable time, which is a concern.

The company expects total revenues between $36.5 billion and $39 billion for the second quarter of 2024, assuming an unfavorable forex impact of 1% to year-over-year revenue growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2024 revenues is currently pegged at $38.15 billion, indicating 19.22% year-over-year growth. The consensus mark for earnings is pegged at $4.67 per share, suggesting 44.58% year-over-year growth.

Zacks Rank & A Key Stock to Consider

Meta Platforms currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) is a better-ranked stock in the broader Zacks Computer & Technology with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NVIDIA shares have gained 121.4% year to date. The long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 36.69%.

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