We just covered Billionaire Dan Loeb Pivots to AI and Sells Old Economy Stocks: His Top 7 AI Picks. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) ranks #2 (see Billionaire Dan Loeb’s Top 5 AI Stock Picks).
Billionaire Dan Loeb’s Stake: 90,000 Shares Valued at Approximately $51.49 Million (NEW position)
Billionaire Dan Loeb opened a new position in Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) in the first quarter, buying 90,000 shares of the social media giant. The stock is down about 15% over the past year as the market awaits ROI on Zuckerberg’s eye-popping AI spending spree.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) plans to spend at least $600 billion on AI infrastructure through 2028, which is spooking investors who fear the returns won’t justify the cost. But bulls believe this investment will pay off because Meta is deploying AI directly into its core business rather than into speculative new ventures.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is using AI to improve its algorithm to increase engagement, which is showing impact in its ads business. The average price per ad grew 12% year-over-year in Q1 2026, nearly double the 6% growth seen just one quarter earlier.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) recently launched Meta One, its first consumer-facing paid subscription service for its AI chatbot. Users can pay $7.99/month for features like image generation, reasoning, and other AI capabilities.
Family of Apps other revenue, which captures subscriptions and business messaging, grew 74% year-over-year to $885 million in Q1, driven primarily by WhatsApp paid messaging and subscriptions revenue.
Impax US Sustainable Economy Fund stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) (Communication Services, Interactive Media & Services) is not held in the portfolio due to its unfavorable Corporate Resilience profile, including below-average scores on social risk management and governance. The stock declined materially during the quarter, reflecting broader de-rating of large-cap technology names and concerns around slowing digital advertising growth in a weaker consumer environment. The portfolio’s zero weight, given Meta’s meaningful benchmark position, made this the second-largest positive active contributor (Click Here to Read the Letter in Detail).”
Photo by Timothy Hales Bennett on Unsplash
While we acknowledge the risk and potential of META as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than META and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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