This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) were moving higher again in June as the social media giant benefited from the broader uptrend in the stock market, and investors reacted to Meta's deal to take a 49% stake in Scale AI, a data-labeling start-up, for $14 billion.
By the end of the month, Meta stock had finished up 14%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
As you can see from the chart, the stock gained in two separate stages, in the beginning and end of the month.
Meta pushes deeper into AI
Meta's ambitions in AI became clearer last month as the company made a splash with the Scale AI deal. The move gives the company near-50% ownership of a promising AI start-up, and also brings Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang into the Meta fold. Wang will head up a new research lab working on superintelligence.
Additionally, other news reports emerged about Meta's poaching AI talent from OpenAI, and it also reportedly tried to buy Perplexity, the AI search-focused start-up now valued at $14 billion, as well as Safe Superintelligence, another AI start-up. Finally, the company is considering raising $29 billion to fund its data center expansion push as part of its AI ambitions.
Early in the month, Meta also signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Constellation Energy, showing its commitment to securing an adequate source of energy as AI needs grow.
On the device front, the company also introduced Oakley Meta glasses, which it called a new category of Performance AI glasses, featuring a built-in camera, open-ear speakers, and water resistance.
Meanwhile, the stock also benefited from cooling tensions around the trade war, as well as solid economic data showing the job market continuing to expand and inflation remaining in check.
Since nearly all the company's revenue comes from digital advertising, the business is sensitive to the broader economy, so signs of continued growth are good for Meta.
What's next for Meta?
Meta's price-to-earnings ratio has risen to 28 following last month's gains, but that still looks like a fair price to pay for a stock that dominates the social media sector, has a huge competitive advantage in digital advertising, and is investing heavily into its strong AI division.
We'll hear from Meta at the end of the month when it reports second-quarter earnings. Analysts are expecting another strong quarter, with revenue increasing 14% to $44.55 billion and earnings per share rising from $5.16 to $5.84. If Meta can maintain that kind of growth, the stock should continue to move higher.
This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
