CNBC Says Meta Shares Remain Cheap as New AI Releases Draw Buyers

CNBC said Meta trades at about 19 times 2027 earnings estimates, according to FactSet data. That multiple matches what the report described as an average market multiple, but the analysis said it looks more attractive because Meta’s Family of Apps business generates highly positive operating cash flow and is growing revenue at 20% a year.

The report said a sum-of-the-parts view makes the valuation even more compelling because it allows investors to consider the value of Meta’s AI efforts. CNBC divided those efforts into two buckets, the model and the compute, and said the market may not be giving Meta enough credit in either area.

Meta released Muse Spark 1.3, a large language model, on Sept. 2. CNBC said it quickly drew praise for its low price versus other models and for its capabilities. The model scored 48 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, an independent industry benchmark cited by CNBC, leapfrogging GPT-5.6 Sol, which at the time was OpenAI’s leading model. As of Wednesday, OpenAI’s new Astra model had overtaken Muse Spark on that benchmark, while Anthropic’s Fable remained in the lead. CNBC said that regardless of ranking, Meta’s AI lab is on the top-three podium and should have value to investors.

The report argued Meta has managed to stand up a frontier-level AI lab while having access to more owned compute than either Anthropic or OpenAI, and that the market is not appreciating this. It compared other AI-linked valuations: SpaceX, which owns xAI and its Grok chatbot, has a current market capitalization of about $2 trillion; Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in its latest private fundraising round and is reportedly seeking twice that amount in a planned initial public offering; and OpenAI’s latest round valued it at $852 billion. IPOs from Anthropic and OpenAI are expected this year or in early 2027.

CNBC noted that Anthropic and OpenAI are not believed to be profitable on a GAAP basis. SpaceX, which is money-losing, is expected to flip to profitability in the September and December quarters, primarily because of lucrative compute-lease agreements signed this year with Anthropic and Alphabet’s Google, according to the report. CNBC also said SpaceX is much more than a pure-play AI lab because of its rocket business, and its extraterrestrial ambitions have historically excited investors.

The analysis said Meta shares have looked cheap versus the market and peers for a while without producing a sustained rally. But it said the new AI updates, combined with other potential levers to make money, should help change the narrative. Investors were buying Wednesday, with the stock up 5%, CNBC said. Shares were down 2% year to date and needed to gain another 22% to return to record highs around $790 last September.

CNBC also described a strong technical setup alongside the fundamental case. The report said it considers itself fundamental analysts rather than technicians, but it appreciates that technical analysis provides information resulting from past supply-and-demand dynamics for a stock regardless of why investors buy or sell. When technical and fundamental setups do not align, investors must proceed with caution; when they agree, the report said, it may be a very good opportunity to make money. CNBC said that is now the case with Meta Platforms.

The report acknowledged that investors would need to stomach volatility between now and the midterms. CNBC said they would be rewarded for building a position now if they can tolerate that volatility, and even more so if they take advantage of it.