Meta Shares Under Pressure as Erste Group Sounds Alarm

A significant shift in analyst sentiment is creating headwinds for Meta Platforms, Inc. The Austrian financial institution Erste Group has downgraded its rating on the social media titan’s stock from “Buy” to “Hold,” signaling growing apprehension on Wall Street. The core of the concern lies in the company’s massive, and escalating, capital expenditures directed toward artificial intelligence.

The market’s reaction has been swift and severe. Meta’s announcement of planned investment outlays reaching up to $72 billion for this year alone, with an expectation of “significantly more” by 2026, triggered the stock’s worst four-day decline since November 2022. In that brief period, the equity shed nearly 17 percent of its value, Read more...