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Live Chats Are Now on Threads: Will They Drive META's User Engagement?
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Key Takeaways
META introduced Live Chats on Threads to enable real-time public conversations during major events.
Meta Platforms saw a 20% rise in time spent on Threads, driven by improved recommendations.
META expects Q1 2026 revenues of $53.5B-$56.5B, indicating strong growth momentum.
Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) is benefiting from the introduction of live chats on Threads, a move that is poised to significantly enhance user engagement across its platforms.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Meta’s apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, already serve more than 3.5 billion daily users. The company has seen strong momentum on Threads, with recent improvements to recommendations driving a 20% lift in time spent on the platform. This demonstrates that product enhancements, especially those that foster real-time engagement, can substantially impact user activity.
The addition of live chats is likely to amplify this trend further. Meta recently introduced Live Chats on Threads, a new feature that allows public group conversations during major cultural events like sports games or album releases. These chats promote real-time interaction with tools like polls, countdowns, live scores and typing indicators. They will first appear in the NBAThreads Community during the playoffs, featuring popular media personalities as hosts.
Users can find chats through feeds or profile indicators and join in by messaging, reacting, or voting. Even completed chats will still be viewable. Selected creators can host and schedule sessions, and more features like co-hosting and shareable chat content are planned as Threads rolls out Live Chats to other communities.
The introduction of Live Chats on Threads is well-aligned with Meta’s proven approach to driving engagement through innovation and AI. This is expected to benefit META’s top-line growth. Meta Platforms expects total revenues between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion for the first quarter of 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is currently pegged at $55.49 billion, suggesting 31.15% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
META Faces Stiff Competition
Meta Platform is facing stiff competition from competitors like Snap (SNAP - Free Report) and Reddit (RDDT - Free Report) . Both Snap and Reddit are expanding into advertising to compete in the rapidly growing digital ad market.
Snap has reached 946 million monthly active users, driven by continued adoption of Augmented Reality Lenses, Spotlight and the My AI chatbot. Snap’s global community reached 474 million daily active users in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 5% year over year.
Reddit is benefiting from strong user growth, which underscores its potential for continued expansion and increased revenue opportunities. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Reddit reported 121 million daily active users (DAUs), a 19% year-over-year increase, and 471 million weekly active users (WAUs), up 24% year over year.
META’s Share Price Performance, Valuation, and Estimates
META’s shares have gained 2.2% in the year-to-date period, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s return of 5.4%.
META Stock's Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
META shares are overvalued, with a forward 12-month Price/Sales of 6.45X compared with the Internet - Software’s 3.98X. META has a Value Score of C.
META's Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $29.83 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days. This suggests 26.99% year-over-year growth.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Live Chats Are Now on Threads: Will They Drive META's User Engagement?
Key Takeaways
Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) is benefiting from the introduction of live chats on Threads, a move that is poised to significantly enhance user engagement across its platforms.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Meta’s apps, which include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, already serve more than 3.5 billion daily users. The company has seen strong momentum on Threads, with recent improvements to recommendations driving a 20% lift in time spent on the platform. This demonstrates that product enhancements, especially those that foster real-time engagement, can substantially impact user activity.
The addition of live chats is likely to amplify this trend further. Meta recently introduced Live Chats on Threads, a new feature that allows public group conversations during major cultural events like sports games or album releases. These chats promote real-time interaction with tools like polls, countdowns, live scores and typing indicators. They will first appear in the NBAThreads Community during the playoffs, featuring popular media personalities as hosts.
Users can find chats through feeds or profile indicators and join in by messaging, reacting, or voting. Even completed chats will still be viewable. Selected creators can host and schedule sessions, and more features like co-hosting and shareable chat content are planned as Threads rolls out Live Chats to other communities.
The introduction of Live Chats on Threads is well-aligned with Meta’s proven approach to driving engagement through innovation and AI. This is expected to benefit META’s top-line growth. Meta Platforms expects total revenues between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion for the first quarter of 2026. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is currently pegged at $55.49 billion, suggesting 31.15% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
META Faces Stiff Competition
Meta Platform is facing stiff competition from competitors like Snap (SNAP - Free Report) and Reddit (RDDT - Free Report) . Both Snap and Reddit are expanding into advertising to compete in the rapidly growing digital ad market.
Snap has reached 946 million monthly active users, driven by continued adoption of Augmented Reality Lenses, Spotlight and the My AI chatbot. Snap’s global community reached 474 million daily active users in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 5% year over year.
Reddit is benefiting from strong user growth, which underscores its potential for continued expansion and increased revenue opportunities. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Reddit reported 121 million daily active users (DAUs), a 19% year-over-year increase, and 471 million weekly active users (WAUs), up 24% year over year.
META’s Share Price Performance, Valuation, and Estimates
META’s shares have gained 2.2% in the year-to-date period, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s return of 5.4%.
META Stock's Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
META shares are overvalued, with a forward 12-month Price/Sales of 6.45X compared with the Internet - Software’s 3.98X. META has a Value Score of C.
META's Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings is pegged at $29.83 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days. This suggests 26.99% year-over-year growth.
Meta Platforms, Inc. Price and Consensus
Meta Platforms, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Meta Platforms, Inc. Quote
Meta Platforms currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.