Santa Fe jury finds 43M violations by Meta in state's second court win

A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for 43 million violations of state consumer protection laws, stemming from a decade-old case involving data misuse by Cambridge Analytica. The state previously won two trials against Meta, securing $942 million in judgments. Meta could face up to $219 billion in penalties, but the final amount will be determined by the judge.

A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for misleading customers about a data breach affecting 87 million Facebook profiles, violating state consumer protection laws. Prosecutors seek penalties for over 43 million violations. Meta plans to appeal, disputing the outcome and emphasizing its commitment to free speech. This follows a March verdict where Meta was found to have endangered children by misrepresenting platform safety.

Meta Platforms (META) shares reached a 52-week high of $779.82 on September 24, 2026, coinciding with the launch of its Muse AI agent and Meta Connect 2026 event. The rally followed the company's unveiling of new AI and hardware products, including Muse Charm. Wells Fargo raised its price target to $796, citing the company's AI bets and cost-cutting efforts. Investors are watching to see if Muse gains mainstream adoption, as the stock's performance is tied to the product's success.

AMD's shares surged 10%, reaching a $1 trillion market cap, driven by AI chip demand. Meta's Muse AI app boosted its stock. Moderna rallied 30% on cancer vaccine data. Akamai gained 15% after a $11.6B deal with Anthropic. Treasury yields hit 19-year highs, testing rally staying power.

Meta shares rose 4.5% to $777.59, boosting Mark Zuckerberg's net worth to $266.4bn and making him the world's fourth-richest person. Investor enthusiasm for Meta's AI strategy, including its personal AI agent Muse, drove the surge. Dell Technologies shares fell 2.5% to $536.02, reducing Michael Dell's net worth to $265.4bn. Meta's shares have gained 17.8% year-to-date, while Dell's stock has risen 325% over the same period.

U.S. Treasury yields rose, with the 30-Year yield at 5.51% and the 10-Year at 5.21%, impacting housing stocks like D.R. Horton (DHI), Zillow (Z), and Lennar (LEN). Datadog (DDOG) rose 7%, Akamai (AKAM) secured a $12B AI deal, and Zscaler (ZS) fell 8.6% on AI cybersecurity concerns. Meta (META) dropped 3.4%, while Microsoft (MSFT), Dell (DELL), and Qualcomm (QCOM) saw gains.