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Meta isn't the value stock everyone thinks it is

Meta Platforms looks more like a thematic ETF than a bargain
Meta isn't the value stock everyone thinks it isPublished on January 11, 2023
  • Meta’s investment case is highly idiosyncratic
  • Just don’t call it a value stock
  • Lots of idea-generating content…

Is Meta Platforms (US:META) a ‘value’ stock? That seems to be the new consensus among financial commentators (and in some quarters of the IC itself), as the Facebook-owner limps into a new year, having just laid off one in eight employees and seen its share price tank 60 per cent in 12 months.

One only need look at the company’s market valuation to understand why. This year, Wall Street expects the former $1tn (£820bn) company to generate earnings of $8.11 per share, down from September 2021’s high water mark 2023 forecast of $18.90. That puts the stock on a forward earnings multiple of 16, or roughly half its five-year high.

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