Due to Meta Platforms' (META 0.30%) plans to spend massive sums on artificial intelligence infrastructure, its shares have fallen substantially from the 52-week high of $796.25 they reached last August. But the stock's trajectory has changed in recent days, edging up past $600.
The catalyst for Wall Street's renewed optimism is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's plan to turn the company's expensive AI infrastructure into a cloud computing business that sells access to its artificial intelligence models. This will provide it with a new revenue stream and diversify Meta beyond its advertising-fueled social media foundation.
That new direction could become a key sales driver, as it has been for other tech titans that pursued cloud computing, such as Amazon, Microsoft, and notably, Meta's chief rival in digital advertising, Google parent Alphabet. But is Meta joining this cadre too late, or does its AI opportunity change the dynamics of its investment thesis?
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A look at Meta's cloud computing ambitions
Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are the world's top three providers of cloud computing capacity, demonstrating that this market is a natural fit for tech businesses already pouring money into data center infrastructure. Meta -- the fourth of the big hyperscalers -- finally throwing its hat into the ring makes sense, especially since it plans to spend as much as $145 billion on capital expenditures this year, up substantially from 2025's $72.2 billion.
However, it could take years for the revenue it generates from its cloud business to become meaningful. The Facebook parent hoped to make the metaverse a significant new sales and profit source, and even changed its name back in 2021 to reflect that goal, but to no avail. After enormous investments in its metaverse aspirations, the company continues to make nearly all of its revenue from advertising. For instance, $55 billion of its $56.3 billion in first-quarter sales came from ads.
Yet Meta's cloud strategy is a different beast. Artificial intelligence is already gaining broad market traction, unlike the metaverse. The company is providing its proprietary AI models to customers for a fee, akin to the approach adopted by the likes of OpenAI.
Moreover, the barriers to entry in this space are high. Developing a proprietary AI model requires significant funding to establish the necessary infrastructure. So much money is required that even Alphabet's enormous cash-generating business isn't enough to cover its costs; it recently engaged in a massive $84.75 billion equity offering, the largest in U.S. history.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
Meta's approach to AI
Another factor making AI a unique opportunity is that Zuckerberg sees the tech evolving into a superintelligence.
"We have begun to see glimpses of our AI systems improving themselves," he said. Rather than this technology being used in a general capacity, he envisions AIs tailored to individual needs.
"Meta's vision is to bring personal superintelligence to everyone," Zuckerberg said. "We believe in putting this power in people's hands to direct it toward what they value in their own lives."
If Meta can deliver on this vision, its AI cloud business could become a substantial revenue source. After all, Google's cloud division delivered $17.7 billion in sales last year, representing fast growth from 2021's $5.5 billion, the year before OpenAI's ChatGPT exploded onto the scene.
Even though Meta's stock has ticked upward, its forward price-to-earnings ratio of 21 remains near its low point for the past year. This suggests a good share price valuation, making now an opportune time to consider buying Meta shares.
