The S&P 500 recently fell 10% off its most recent high, which is usually the threshold investors use to mark a correction. But corrections are nothing to fear for investors. In fact, they can be a great opportunity to buy shares of great companies before their stock price takes off again.

Investors going bargain hunting may want to pick up shares of this great growth stock. While shares have already climbed significantly in 2023, its most recent quarterly report showed it's massively outperforming other companies in its industry. And after the market sell-off, the stock trades at a great value for investors.

The unrivaled growth stock investors should buy today

Meta Platforms (META 0.43%) is proving more resilient than investors might've thought, and it's worth taking a closer look at the stock.

Its third-quarter performance showed tremendous strength in digital advertising. Ad revenue improved 23.5% year over year. By comparison, its biggest rival, Alphabet (GOOG 9.96%) (GOOGL 10.22%), grew advertising revenue just 9.5%. If you compare Meta to its smaller competitor, Snap (SNAP 27.63%), Meta's growing more than 4 times as fast.

If you look at it from an average revenue per user (ARPU) perspective, it's not even close. Meta's ARPU increased 19% year over year last quarter. Snap saw ARPU decline 6%.

And it's not just boosting its top line. Operating margin for its Family of Apps business expanded to 52%. That's up from 41% last quarter and 34% a year ago. Overall operating margin came in at 40%, up from 20% in the prior-year period. By comparison, Alphabet's Google Services generated an operating margin of 35% (up from 31% last year) and Snap's still operating at a loss.

Meta's proving to be the best-in-class digital advertising company. And even though it's already a dominant force in the industry, it's only getting stronger.

What's driving growth at Meta?

The formula for ad revenue growth at Meta is fairly straightforward: increase engagement and improve monetization of that engagement.

Over the last few years, Reels has been a big driver of engagement on Instagram and Facebook. In fact, Meta estimates Reels grew engagement on Instagram by 40% since its launch in 2020. The downside, however, is that Reels monetizes at a lower rate than the feed or Stories. Management put a big focus on improving the monetization gap between Reels and its other formats at the start of the year, and it now says the net impact of Reels on ad sales is neutral.

That's fueled by increasing marketer demand across Meta's Family of Apps while improving its recommendation algorithm, data analytics, and measurement capabilities. Its massive investments in artificial intelligence power all of that. And while generative AI is getting the spotlight, Meta's machine-learning recommendation algorithms are driving its business right now.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that AI will continue to be a major area of investment for the company going forward. And its ability to spend so much on developing artificial intelligence is a major advantage. Meta's AI investments allow it to outperform smaller companies like Snap, which doesn't have the resources to invest as much. That's going to allow Meta to continue taking market share going forward.

Zuckerberg also said the company will keep focusing on cost controls in 2024. That should translate into continued strong operating margins in 2024 relative to 2021 and 2022. That said, the company is hiring again and it'll face larger depreciation and operating expenses from its investments in its AI data centers.

The stock is a screaming buy

Despite the stock's strong performance in 2023, it's still sporting an attractive price.

Shares currently trade for around 20 times forward earnings. That's slightly better than Alphabet's forward multiple of 20.7 times. It's also just slightly above the S&P 500's forward multiple.

Meta is positioned to continue taking share of the overall ad market. Reels is shifting from a headwind to a tailwind. Its investments in AI are paying off handsomely. And the product pipeline (note: Threads has almost 100 million monthly users) holds great potential.

Even as Meta may face macroeconomic headwinds, it should be better off than the competition because its scale and technology differentiate it. At this price, the social media specialist is an absolute buy for those looking to add a growth stock to their portfolio.