Is Meta Platforms Stock Outperforming the Dow?

• StockStory Top Pick META -0.35%

Commanding a market cap of $1.5 trillion, Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) is a technology titan that builds social, communication, and immersive digital platforms used by billions of people worldwide. Based in California, Meta operates some of the world’s most widely used social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

Companies valued at over $200 billion or more are generally classified as “mega-cap” stocks, and Meta Platforms fits this criterion perfectly. Meta generates most of its revenue from digital advertising, leveraging its massive user base and advanced AI-driven ad targeting. In recent years, the company has aggressively invested in artificial intelligence, both to power its recommendation systems across apps and to develop its family of open-source large language models under the “Llama” series.

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Despite the notable strengths, the social media giant touched its 52-week high of $796.25 on Aug. 15 and is currently trading 23% below the peak. Over the past three months, shares of META have declined 18.8%, underperforming the broader Dow Jones Industrial Average’s ($DOWI) 1.9% rise over the same time frame.

META has rallied 4.7% on a YTD basis, trailing $DOWI’s 9.2% rise in 2025. However, shares of Meta Platforms have risen 9.6% over the past 52 weeks, compared to $DOWI’s 3.8% return over the same time frame.

META stock has dipped below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since late October, indicating a bearish trend.

Meta posted its Q3 2025 earnings report on Oct. 9, and its shares sank 12.2% in the next morning trading session, as a large one-time $15.9 billion tax charge and shrinking margins overshadowed otherwise strong results. Revenue jumped 26.2% year-over-year to $51.2 billion, beating estimates, and adjusted EPS of $7.25 topped expectations by 9.7%, supported by solid ad growth and early momentum from its Superintelligence Labs initiative. Although the tax charge sharply reduced EPS, Meta said it expects President Trump’s budget bill to meaningfully lower its federal tax burden for the rest of 2025 and beyond.

In a head-to-head comparison, Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) has stolen the spotlight from Meta, surging 67.2% year-to-date and 91.2% over the past 52 weeks, outpacing its rival by a wide margin.

Nevertheless, META has an overall consensus rating of “Strong Buy” from the 56 analysts covering the stock. META’s mean price target of $837.85 implies an upside potential of 36.7% from the prevailing price levels.

On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com