Meta Shares Rally Toward $2 Trillion After Muse AI Launch

Shares of Meta Platforms Incorporated surged nearly 40% since late July, driven by strong advertising performance and the September 8 launch of the Muse AI assistant. The stock reached $776.58 on September 24, pushing the company's valuation toward $2 trillion. The rally was supported by a 14% increase in second-quarter ad impressions and a 12% rise in average ad prices year over year.

Despite the growth, the company faces financial pressure from massive AI infrastructure spending. Projected capital expenditures for 2026 range between $130 billion and $145 billion, which contributed to a decline in second-quarter operating margins from 43% to 31%. On September 25, shares declined 3.64% to $749.3 as investors engaged in profit-taking after the stock approached its 52-week highs.

Wall Street firms have responded to the Muse debut with increased price targets ranging from $820 to $950. The AI agent, which surpassed 2.5 million downloads in its first two weeks, is integrated with new hardware including audio glasses and an AI charm device. Financial projections for Muse vary, with Piper Sandler estimating $44 billion in annual revenue by 2030 and TD Cowen projecting $27 billion by 2031. Analysts highlighted Meta's retail integrations with over 2,000 applications, including Walmart and Sephora, as a key advantage over competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic.