We recently compiled a list of the 8 Best AdTech Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) stands against the other AdTech stocks.

It goes without saying that the advertisement technology industry happens to be an exciting and ever-evolving sector, as digital advertising continues to dominate the market trends and remains at the forefront when it comes to strategic marketing. According to industry data by Allied Market Research, the global AdTech market was pegged at $748.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $2.9 trillion by 2031. This demonstrates a CAGR of ~14.7% from 2022 to 2031.

This growth comes off the back of growing digital and internet penetration, increased usage of advanced technology like AI and machine learning, improved prospects for the gaming industry, and growth in social media apps including Facebook, WhatsApp, and others. Some of the top trends dominating the AdTech industry include higher usage of connected TV (CTV) advertising, in-app advertising, and interactive ads.

Growth prospects of the AdTech industry

The AdTech market has been bifurcated into solution, advertising type, size of an enterprise, platform, etc. The AdTech industry includes a wide range of companies and products, such as demand-side platforms (DSPs), supply-side platforms (SSPs), ad exchanges, data management platforms (DMPs), and more. Experts are of the view that the global supply-side platform (SSP) market size should touch ~$117.32 billion by 2033. This means that the industry should compound at ~13.3% from 2023 to 2033. This growth is expected to stem from technological advancements, higher consumer demand, and supportive government policies.

In the same vein, the demand side platform software market size should touch US$120.1 billion by 2033 on the heels of an improved trend of programmatic advertising and, the need for better targeting along with measurement capabilities for online ads. While the AdTech industry seems promising, inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI) makes it even more appealing.

AI’s Role in AdTech – Opportunities and Challenges

Global AdTech industry continues to prepare for the complete deprecation of third-party cookies by Google, which makes up ~65% of the web browser market share. This transition seems to be a critical step for enabling user privacy and data security. Artificial Intelligence, because of its capability to process vast amounts of data, should play a crucial role.

Research suggests that ~54% of businesses believe that AI offers advertising cost savings and efficiencies and ~30% of marketing professionals decided to earmark more than 40% of their marketing budget to campaigns that are AI-executed. The advent of smart speakers, voice search, and podcasting can help advertisers in creating fresh avenues to connect with target audiences with the help of audio and voice technology.

While advertisers can exploit the opportunities available in the AdTech industry, they need to be wary about challenges such as Ad fraud. These frauds are caused mainly because of bot traffic, domain spoofing, or ad stacking. Some other challenges include inventory quality, ad creativity, and brand safety.

AI and ML are revolutionizing digital advertising by enabling advertisers to assess vast amounts of data in real time. As a result, the advertisers can make data-driven decisions for optimizing ad campaigns. Advertisers now use algorithmic advertising, personalization, and performance metrics to maximize ROI.

AI algorithms help in automating media buying, making sure that ads reach the target audience. Personalized ads can be delivered using AI-powered recommendation engines and these engines enable real-time tracking, which can help make quick adjustments to fuel success.

The global AdTech industry is expected to compound in the mid-teens range over the next decade. Given that it’s still early in its growth story, now is the time to look at some of the best AdTech stocks.

Our Methodology

For this article, we selected the holdings of SmartETFs Advertising & Marketing Technology ETF and ranked them in ascending order of the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them. For the purposes, we sifted through Insider Monkey’s hedge fund data for 1Q 2024.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 246

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is the world’s largest online social network, having more than 3.6 billion monthly active users. These users engage with each other in a variety of ways, exchanging messages and sharing news events, etc.

The company released its 2Q 2024 financial results, wherein, its revenues jumped 22% YoY to $39 billion, with ads revenue coming at ~$38.3 billion. Ads revenue saw a jump of ~22% YoY, and the management of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is quite optimistic about ads revenue for 3Q 2024.

In May, the company unveiled a slate of new Gen-AI-powered tools and services. These services focus on helping businesses improve their ad performance and visibility on the company’s popular social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s management highlighted that spending is expected to significantly increase in 2025 because of its infrastructure costs. Well, this increase is understandable as this is related to the development of a leading large language model. This powers GenAI technologies. The company continues to focus on improving its ad revenues by innovating in a way that can bring more personalization to each user. This should help Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) increase the price per ad.

Analysts at Piper Sandler upped their price objective on the shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) from $545.00 to $575.00, giving it an “Overweight” rating on 1^st August. As of the first quarter, the stock is held by 246 hedge funds with stakes worth $46.9 billion.

Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2024 investor letter and mentioned Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). Here is what the fund said:

“In the second quarter, the top relative contributors to the Portfolio’s performance were all names we do not hold: Home Depot, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), and AbbVie. Meta Platforms delivered robust results in the period, with revenue growth accelerating in the first quarter. However, revenue comparisons for Meta will become more difficult from here, and its guidance for 2Q revenue fell below market expectations. After the company’s “year of efficiency,” where it cut costs in its core business, management is now indicating another ramp-up in GenAI and metaverse spending, spurring concerns about future profit margins. Metaverse spending, by our calculations, is now over $20 billion per year with little to no expected return on the foreseeable horizon.”

Overall META ranks 2nd on our list of the best AdTech stocks to buy. You can visit 8 Best AdTech Stocks to Buy Now to see the other AdTech stocks that are on hedge funds’ radar. While we acknowledge the potential of META as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering strong returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than META but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.