Billionaire Ken Fisher’s Top 15 Stock Picks Heading into 2025

12. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Fisher Asset Management’s Equity Stake: $3.76 Billion

Number of Hedge Funds Holding Stakes: 235

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a communication service company that develops products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family. As the owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, the company generates 98% of its revenues from digital advertising. Likewise, the company’s core digital advertising business is booming amid a resilient economy on lower interest rates.

On October 30, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) reported its third-quarter results. The company made $40.59 billion in revenue, up 19% from last year. Its operating margin increased to 43%. User engagement grew, with 3.29 billion daily active users across its apps, a 5% rise. The average ad price also went up by 11%.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is putting more money into generative AI with its large language model, Llama. This is part of their plan to make their apps more engaging. More engagement means more advertisers, which leads to more ad revenue. Analysts expect Meta’s earnings to grow at an annual rate of 25% and revenue by 16% from 2023 to 2026. The growth will come from their apps, which have 3.29 billion daily users, and new augmented and virtual reality products.

Alger Spectra Fund stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) operates the world’s largest social network, with over 3 billion monthly active users. The company generates more than 95% of its revenue from advertising, evenly split between North America and international markets. During the quarter, shares contributed to performance following the release of strong fiscal second quarter operating results, with revenues and earnings beating analyst estimates. Management also raised their fiscal 2024 revenue guidance, citing improved advertising monetization. CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that AI has played a key role in these successes, as the company is leveraging AI to enhance targeting, measurement, ranking, and ad delivery. Higher user engagement, driven by video ranking, content recommendations, and single video views, has also supported growth. Additionally, the optimization of ad placements within videos and automation of ad campaigns are further boosting monetization.”