'Out of nowhere came Muse': Wall Street weighs in on Meta's AI catch-up moment

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's net worth dropped by $8.9 billion to $257.5 billion, according to Forbes data, as Meta shares fell 4% on Friday. This followed a 36% September rally. Goldman Sachs warned AI companies like Meta may need $300 billion in annual revenue to cover capital spending. Meta's AI investments, including its Muse assistant, have driven recent share-price gains.

Institutional investors are increasing stock market activity, while retail traders step back. Vanda Research notes strong institutional options flows, with a focus on AI stocks like Meta Platforms (META), which saw a 13% surge post-AI device launch. Goldman Sachs reports retail trading volume down 3% from its peak. The S&P 500 gained over 1% last week, turning positive for the month despite rising Treasury yields.

Meta Platforms Inc. shares rose 4.5% on Thursday, making it the world's seventh most valuable public company. Analyst Gene Munster admitted he underestimated the significance of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's comment that Muse would be the 'centerpiece' of Meta, indicating a shift to an 'agentic, AI-first business.' Munster now believes this could lead to a stock re-rating. Meta's market cap reached $1.72 trillion, surpassing SpaceX's $1.14 trillion.

Meta (META) partners with Shopify (SHOP) to expand Muse AI's commerce capabilities, enabling agentic checkout and product discovery. This follows Amazon's block on Muse, highlighting Meta's push for AI-driven transactions beyond advertising.

Meta's shares fell 4% on Friday, reducing Mark Zuckerberg's net worth by $8.9 billion to $257.5 billion. Despite this, shares are up 36% in September due to investor interest in its Muse AI assistant. Goldman Sachs warned about high AI spending by major tech firms, including Meta, requiring significant revenue to break even. Muse has seen 2.8 million downloads in its first two weeks, offering tasks beyond chatbot functions.

Microsoft (MSFT) rose 3.66% after launching its Copilot AI assistant, driving the S&P 500 (SPY) up 0.54%. Meta (META) fell 3.33% despite AI advancements due to high spending. Oracle (ORCL) dropped 1.75% after data center delays. Microsoft's Q2 sales grew 18%, with Azure up 43%. Stifel raised MSFT's target to $575. Investors favor proven AI monetization.