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Buy, Hold or Sell META Stock Ahead of Meta Connect 2026?
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Key Takeaways
Meta Connect 2026 may showcase new smart glasses, a VR headset and updates to the company's metaverse push.
Muse hit 730,000 downloads in roughly five days of launch and became the top free U.S. iOS app by last Friday.
Meta expects $130-$145B and $165-$169 billion in 2026 capex and total expenses, respectively.
Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) is heading into Meta Connect 2026, the company's annual product showcase. The timing is important. Meta Connect is scheduled for Sept. 23 and 24. META stock surged more than 11% yesterday. Before that jump, shares had gained only a little more than 2% so far this year. The strong rally yesterday came amid solid reception of its new Muse AI assistant. The question now is whether Connect can provide another catalyst or whether much of the near-term optimism is already reflected in the stock.
What to Watch at Meta Connect
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to unveil new smart glasses, a VR headset and updates to Meta's metaverse push. Smart glasses usually steal the spotlight, but this year comes with the added friction of growing privacy pushback against AI-enabled glasses. There are reports that Meta could introduce camera-free glasses to address that concern. A mixed-reality headset dubbed Project Phoenix may also get a preview, though it reportedly won't ship until 2027.
New generations of Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses could receive significant attention at the event. But due to the ongoing RAM supply crunch, these glasses could carry higher prices than the current lineup.
Expect Muse to be a centerpiece of the keynote, with Zuckerberg likely detailing how it works across Meta's device ecosystem.
Meta’s Muse Mania
Muse was launched on Sept. 8, and within just over a week of its launch, it shot to the top of the Apple (AAPL - Free Report) App Store. The early numbers are hard to ignore. In roughly five days of its launch, Muse had racked up 730,000 downloads, according to data from Sensor Tower cited by CNBC. By last Friday, it had overtaken ChatGPT as the top free iOS app in the United States. It has moved ahead of other AI applications such as Claude and Grok in the U.S. iOS rankings.
Muse isn't a chatbot. It's positioned as an agent that can handle multi-step tasks— filling out forms, organizing an inbox, navigating the web on a user's behalf. It's built on Meta's Muse Spark model family and represents Zuckerberg's clearest bet yet on AI agents as a product category. Muse is strengthening hopes that Meta can turn its massive AI spending into new consumer products and additional revenue streams.
Still, early popularity does not guarantee lasting adoption. Several AI products have generated significant initial excitement only to see engagement fade. Muse is barely two weeks old. Whether it becomes a habit or a curiosity is still an open question. Privacy and security concerns could also become an obstacle. Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , for instance, has already blocked Muse from accessing its shopping site because of such concerns.
META’s Spending Problem Remains
Meta expects capital expenditures of $130-$145 billion in 2026, with more than $31 billion spent in just the second quarter. Total expenses are guided between $165 billion and $169 billion. The spending involves the computing infrastructure needed to train and operate sophisticated AI models. That investment could eventually strengthen Meta's competitive position. But investors still need to see returns.
This is particularly important because Meta is currently heavily dependent on advertising. The company generated $60.8 billion of revenues in the second quarter, with $59.36 billion coming from advertising. Reality Labs, meanwhile, generated only $431 million while posting a $4.62 billion operating loss.
Reels also continue to monetize below Feed and Stories, and competition for ad dollars from Amazon and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) is heating up. Meanwhile, Meta's AI ambitions are unfolding against a broader regulatory and legal backdrop. In late August, the company agreed to pay roughly $17 billion to settle state lawsuits alleging that it misrepresented the harm its apps could cause to children and teens.
META: Valuation Check & Estimates
Meta trades at a forward 12-month P/S multiple of around 6.5, above the peer-group level. The stock carries a Value Score of C.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for META’s 2026 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 26.4% and 34%, respectively. But the EPS estimates have declined over the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Our Take
Muse gives Meta a potentially important new AI growth story. A strong Connect presentation could reinforce the argument that Meta's infrastructure spending is building an ecosystem rather than simply increasing costs. On the other hand, Meta still leans almost entirely on advertising. Returns from its AI and Reality Labs investments remain uncertain. Valuation isn’t cheap, and estimate revisions are also unfavorable.
For investors already holding META, there's little reason to sell into an event that could bring more positive catalysts. But for those looking to start a position, chasing an 11% single-day pop right before a product event— where expectations are now elevated— might not be a prudent entry point.
A lot of good news may have been priced into one trading session. Investors should wait to see whether the Connect event adds substance to the Muse story, and whether that momentum can translate into real AI monetization.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
Buy, Hold or Sell META Stock Ahead of Meta Connect 2026?
Key Takeaways
Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) is heading into Meta Connect 2026, the company's annual product showcase. The timing is important. Meta Connect is scheduled for Sept. 23 and 24. META stock surged more than 11% yesterday. Before that jump, shares had gained only a little more than 2% so far this year. The strong rally yesterday came amid solid reception of its new Muse AI assistant. The question now is whether Connect can provide another catalyst or whether much of the near-term optimism is already reflected in the stock.
What to Watch at Meta Connect
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to unveil new smart glasses, a VR headset and updates to Meta's metaverse push. Smart glasses usually steal the spotlight, but this year comes with the added friction of growing privacy pushback against AI-enabled glasses. There are reports that Meta could introduce camera-free glasses to address that concern. A mixed-reality headset dubbed Project Phoenix may also get a preview, though it reportedly won't ship until 2027.
New generations of Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses could receive significant attention at the event. But due to the ongoing RAM supply crunch, these glasses could carry higher prices than the current lineup.
Expect Muse to be a centerpiece of the keynote, with Zuckerberg likely detailing how it works across Meta's device ecosystem.
Meta’s Muse Mania
Muse was launched on Sept. 8, and within just over a week of its launch, it shot to the top of the Apple (AAPL - Free Report) App Store. The early numbers are hard to ignore. In roughly five days of its launch, Muse had racked up 730,000 downloads, according to data from Sensor Tower cited by CNBC. By last Friday, it had overtaken ChatGPT as the top free iOS app in the United States. It has moved ahead of other AI applications such as Claude and Grok in the U.S. iOS rankings.
Muse isn't a chatbot. It's positioned as an agent that can handle multi-step tasks— filling out forms, organizing an inbox, navigating the web on a user's behalf. It's built on Meta's Muse Spark model family and represents Zuckerberg's clearest bet yet on AI agents as a product category. Muse is strengthening hopes that Meta can turn its massive AI spending into new consumer products and additional revenue streams.
Still, early popularity does not guarantee lasting adoption. Several AI products have generated significant initial excitement only to see engagement fade. Muse is barely two weeks old. Whether it becomes a habit or a curiosity is still an open question. Privacy and security concerns could also become an obstacle. Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , for instance, has already blocked Muse from accessing its shopping site because of such concerns.
META’s Spending Problem Remains
Meta expects capital expenditures of $130-$145 billion in 2026, with more than $31 billion spent in just the second quarter. Total expenses are guided between $165 billion and $169 billion. The spending involves the computing infrastructure needed to train and operate sophisticated AI models. That investment could eventually strengthen Meta's competitive position. But investors still need to see returns.
This is particularly important because Meta is currently heavily dependent on advertising. The company generated $60.8 billion of revenues in the second quarter, with $59.36 billion coming from advertising. Reality Labs, meanwhile, generated only $431 million while posting a $4.62 billion operating loss.
Reels also continue to monetize below Feed and Stories, and competition for ad dollars from Amazon and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) is heating up. Meanwhile, Meta's AI ambitions are unfolding against a broader regulatory and legal backdrop. In late August, the company agreed to pay roughly $17 billion to settle state lawsuits alleging that it misrepresented the harm its apps could cause to children and teens.
META: Valuation Check & Estimates
Meta trades at a forward 12-month P/S multiple of around 6.5, above the peer-group level. The stock carries a Value Score of C.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for META’s 2026 sales and EPS implies year-over-year growth of 26.4% and 34%, respectively. But the EPS estimates have declined over the past 60 days.
Our Take
Muse gives Meta a potentially important new AI growth story. A strong Connect presentation could reinforce the argument that Meta's infrastructure spending is building an ecosystem rather than simply increasing costs. On the other hand, Meta still leans almost entirely on advertising. Returns from its AI and Reality Labs investments remain uncertain. Valuation isn’t cheap, and estimate revisions are also unfavorable.
For investors already holding META, there's little reason to sell into an event that could bring more positive catalysts. But for those looking to start a position, chasing an 11% single-day pop right before a product event— where expectations are now elevated— might not be a prudent entry point.
A lot of good news may have been priced into one trading session. Investors should wait to see whether the Connect event adds substance to the Muse story, and whether that momentum can translate into real AI monetization.
META currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.