Will Meta Platforms Stock Plunge in 2026? 1 Warning and 1 Reason to Be Optimistic.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) continues to springiness investors reasons to cheer. The concern reported awesome gross growth of 24% successful the 4th fourth of 2025 (ended Dec. 31), with net per stock beating analyst estimates. Shares were instantly higher pursuing the announcement.

Meta is connected a blistery streak. The social media stock has rocketed 387% higher successful the past 3 years (as of Jan. 30). Excitement and optimism are ruling the narrative.

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Is it imaginable that Meta shares alteration people and plunge successful 2026? Investors should heed 1 warning. But there's besides a crushed to stay bullish.

Investors person heard that past show provides nary denotation of results going forward. However, it's insightful if you look astatine Meta's banal chart.

Shares fell 26% successful 2018. They past proceeded to station double-digit gains successful each of the pursuing 3 years. The banal dropped 64% successful 2022, followed by double-digit returns successful each of the adjacent 3 years. Based connected this cycle, Meta is owed for a pullback successful 2026. Simply based connected the terms chart, a diminution would not beryllium surprising, particularly aft specified a monster performance.

Turning our attraction to the fundamentals, Meta revealed plans for $115 billion to $135 cardinal successful superior expenditures (capex) this year. At the midpoint, this implies a notable 74% summation from the $72 cardinal allocated successful 2025. Just to radiance airy connected however overmuch the company's spending has risen, Meta's capex successful 2021 totaled conscionable $19 billion.

The concern is putting each its chips connected the table. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is betting large connected artificial quality (AI). Building information centers is simply a priority, an inaugural called Meta Compute. It's besides processing a caller ample connection exemplary called Avocado. "Our imaginativeness is gathering idiosyncratic superintelligence," helium said on the Q4 2025 net call.

I deliberation investors should beryllium acrophobic astir this level of spending. If immoderate cracks commencement to amusement that mightiness bespeak AI isn't surviving up to the hype, the marketplace mightiness punish Meta's stock.

Even knowing that Meta is loosening its purse strings, investors won't find it hard to privation to buy and hold the stock. The existent valuation is precise compelling. Shares tin beryllium purchased astatine a guardant price-to-earnings ratio of 24.8. If the valuation were overmuch higher, it would rise the hazard of marketplace sentiment turning antagonistic if Meta started to study disappointing results.