Key facts: META $6.6B Sandersville lease; EU bars 'no-knowledge'; +10%

Meta Platforms faces French regulatory scrutiny over smart glasses, though no specific accusations have been made against its products. The company's partnership with EssilorLuxottica holds 76% of the global smart-glasses market. Meta's shares dropped to $677.30, trading at a 20.72% discount to GuruFocus' estimated fair value of $854.33.

Meta's stock is up 25.23% over one month, with Q2 revenue at $60.801 billion, beating estimates. The company is expanding into enterprise services, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighting compute sales and AI growth. Despite a 91.31% drop in free cash flow, Meta's P/E is 25, and it plans to unveil AI glasses on September 23, 2026.

Oracle (ORCL) and Meta (META) reported significant AI-related capital expenditures, with ORCL spending $28.5B and META $30.1B in their respective quarters, leading to negative free cash flow. ORCL's cloud revenue grew 121% YoY, while META's revenue rose 28%. META's ad business shows early AI ROI, but ORCL's cash flow timeline remains uncertain.

Paris prosecutors opened a criminal probe into sexual harassment involving smart glasses, while French data protection authorities received complaints from businesses. Meta's AI-enabled glasses, with a 76% global market share, face scrutiny over privacy and harassment concerns. EssilorLuxottica's latest sales figures indicate exponential growth in 2026. Regulators worldwide are examining the devices' social impact and potential misuse.

A German court ruled Meta liable for fraudulent investment ads on Facebook and Instagram, rejecting its lack-of-knowledge defense under the EU's Digital Services Act. The court ordered Meta to remove the ads, pay damages, and disclose related information. Meta plans to appeal. Finanzfluss, a German finance platform, reported nearly 260 violations in August 2024, with some posts remaining online for up to 62 days.

Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle allegations with 51 U.S. states over claims its platforms harm children. The settlement, the largest in U.S. history, requires Meta to implement safety features like time limits, notification restrictions, and age verification on Instagram and Facebook for the next decade.