Meta Platforms META has been constantly adding features across its platforms to boost user engagement. The company’s focus on integrating AI into its platforms — Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Threads — is expected to help the company add new users. Expanding user base (3.48 billion daily users at the end of the second quarter of 2025) and growing engagement level are expected to boost advertising revenues, which jumped 21.5% year over year to $46.56 billion and accounted for 98% of second-quarter 2025 revenues.

META is frequently introducing new features across its platforms to drive more conversation and user engagement. Meta AI’s growing capabilities have been a key catalyst. It can now translate, dub, and lip sync reels on Facebook and Instagram, which helps users to enjoy reels from around the world. Translations are now available in English, Spanish, Hindi and Portuguese, with more language support in the future. META is set to leverage user interaction with Meta AI to personalize the content and ads users see, including posts and reels.

Meanwhile, Threads users can now attach up to 10,000 characters of text to a post, and any text attached can be read directly in the app. For Instagram, META has launched several new features and tools like repost, interactive map and Friends tab in Reels. 

Meta Platforms has been adding new features to Facebook. The company recently bought back the jobs tool on the platform. Users can search for new jobs through a dedicated tab in Marketplace. Job listings will also appear across Groups and Pages. Meta Platforms has made finding and sharing reels easier on Facebook by upgrading the recommendations engine and AI-powered suggestions. META recently rolled out a new Facebook feature that makes it easier for users to recall and share photos and videos, and suggest edits and collages.

Our model estimate for 2025 advertising revenues is currently pegged at $190.28 billion, indicating 18.5% growth over the figure reported in 2024.

META Faces Tough Competition in Social Networking Space

Meta Platforms is facing tough competition from the likes of Reddit RDDT and Snap SNAP in the social networking space.

Reddit is benefiting from strong growth in user engagement, including rising daily and weekly active users, ARPU gains and the expansion of advertiser tools such as Dynamic Product Ads, Reddit Pixel and Conversion API. In the second quarter of 2025, Reddit’s advertising revenues increased 84% year over year to $465 million, driven by both existing advertisers deepening their investments and a 50% rise in the active advertiser count.

Snap’s advertising platform is evolving with commerce-driven ad volume growing 39% year over year in the second quarter, and newer ad formats such as Sponsored Snaps are delivering stronger conversion outcomes. With campaign tools improving measurability and efficiency, Snap is seeing broader advertiser adoption. Snap continues to evolve as a visual-first social media platform with strong traction among Gen Z users. Its global user base continues to expand, reaching 469 million Daily Active Users during the second quarter of 2025, up 8.6% year over year.

META’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Meta Platforms shares have jumped 25.2% year to date, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 24.5%.

META’s Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price/sales of 8.35X compared with the broader sector’s 6.97X. META has a Value Score of D.

META Stock Trades at a Premium

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings is pegged at $28.17 per share, up four cents over the past 30 days, suggesting 18.1% year-over-year growth.

Meta Platforms, Inc. Price and Consensus

Meta Platforms, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Meta Platforms, Inc. Quote

Meta Platforms currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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