Should I Buy Meta Platforms Stock in 2025? Insights for South African Investors

What is Meta Platforms?

How much is the Meta Platforms stock?

The price of Meta Platforms stock is rising this week. As of now, META trades at $645.05, up 0.23% over the past 24 hours but down 1.33% for the week. Meta's market capitalization stands at $1.62 trillion, with an average daily trading volume of 17.47 million shares over the last 3 months.

Given its moderate volatility and robust earnings growth, Meta remains a compelling option for South African investors seeking long-term tech exposure.

Our full analysis of the Meta Platforms stock

After a rigorous review of Meta Platforms’ latest quarterly financials and analysis of its stock performance trajectory across the past three years, our proprietary process has synthesized inputs from technical, fundamental, and sectoral models alongside peer benchmarks. The convergence of these signals positions Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) as a uniquely dynamic asset within the global tech landscape. So, why might Meta Platforms stock once again become a strategic entry point into the digital innovation and AI sector in 2025?

Recent Performance and Market Context

Over the past 12 months, Meta Platforms’ share price has delivered an impressive 35.98% gain, with the current level at $645.05 as of 29 May 2025. While the broader technology sector has experienced intermittent volatility, META has sustained robust mid-term momentum—up 12.32% over six months and posting a decisive technical breakout (+7.92%) in May following its earnings release. This performance far outpaces both the NASDAQ Composite and major communication services peers.

Recent positive events underscore Meta’s trajectory:

• Meta AI Application Crosses One Billion Monthly Users: This milestone cements Meta’s leadership in generative AI-driven consumer utility.
• Strategic Alliances: Notably, a high-profile partnership with Anduril brings Meta’s VR/AR technologies into military and defense applications—a fast-growing segment with outsized margins and limited competitive penetration.
• Organizational Reengineering: The generative AI unit has been restructured to accelerate product launches, reinforcing Meta’s penchant for operational agility in a rapidly evolving sector.
• Ongoing Technology Capex: Committing up to $65 billion in 2025 to AI infrastructure, Meta signals intentional, transformative bets in the next arms race of tech.

Furthermore, the international macro backdrop—including more accommodative interest rate expectations, burgeoning demand for digital advertising, and renewed regulatory clarity in the US and EU—provides fertile ground for scalable platforms like Meta to consolidate and extend market share. For investors in ZA facing constrained local growth opportunities, Meta’s trajectory presents a compelling avenue for global tech exposure.

Technical Analysis

Meta’s technical profile remains distinctly bullish as Q2 2025 unfolds:

• The 14-day RSI at 62.23 signals the stock’s upward momentum is strong but not overbought—leaving room for further appreciation.
• The MACD (19.88) maintains a wide positive spread, sustaining momentum conviction and implying further buying interest at these levels.
• Moving Averages: The key support is anchored at $590, well below the current range, while resistance sits at $734. The pronounced breakout on 12 May above its moving averages solidifies this uptrend.
• 52-Week Range: META’s current price puts it in the upper quadrant ($442.65 – $740.91), underlining the resilience and growth captured over the preceding year.
• Technical Reversal and Volume: The surge in buying activity during the latest earnings breakout coincided with a bullish reversal pattern, indicating not only algorithmic but discretionary investor confidence.

Collectively, these factors highlight that META is maintaining ideal technical structure for medium- and long-term bullish positioning, with clear areas for dynamic risk management and favorable risk-reward profiles for new entrants.

Fundamental Analysis

Crucially, Meta’s fundamentals robustly justify renewed interest:

• Revenue Growth: Q1 2025 revenues reached $42.31 billion (+16% YoY), driven by double-digit expansion in ad platforms as well as nascent contributions from AI products and business solutions.
• Earnings Power: Net profit soared to $16.64 billion (+35% YoY), with a quarterly EPS of $6.43—an impressive 23% beat on consensus expectations.
• Value Metrics: With a P/E ratio of 25.16 and forward projections factoring in double-digit top- and bottom-line growth, META is trading at a discount to many high-quality tech peers considering its scalable profitability and leadership in monetization—currently projected price target stands at $838.57 (+30% from today).
• Dividend Policy: The initiation and steady increase of its annual dividend to $2.10 (0.33% yield) opens potential for a new investor base, while still enabling heavy reinvestment into core franchises and next-gen R&D.
• Structural Strengths:
• Dominance in Social Ecosystem: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are deeply embedded in daily digital activity for billions.
• AI Leadership: Meta AI’s cross-platform integration and scale is a robust differentiator, fueling both user engagement and new forms of monetization.
• Monetization Leverage: Innovative, high-ROI ad formats and automated ad buying continue to command premium pricing and industry-leading margins.
• Metaverse & Reality Labs Ambition: While Reality Labs operates at a loss, strategic investments in AR/VR are well-timed considering demographic shifts and future utility.
• Brand Value: The Meta name represents durable mindshare and trust, enhancing user stickiness and opening pathways into new markets (including emerging economies relevant to southern Africa).

Despite ongoing Reality Labs losses ($4.2 billion in Q1), the group’s operating cash flow and balance sheet strength ($1.62 trillion market cap, 2.51B shares outstanding) provide ample ballast for continued innovation and share buybacks.

Volume and Liquidity

The vitality of Meta’s liquidity profile further bolsters confidence:

• Trading Volume: With a 65-day average daily volume of 17.47 million shares, META offers exceptional liquidity—even for investors managing institutional-scale transactions or seeking tactical entries around market-moving events.
• Public Float: At 2.17 billion shares, the stock’s float ensures tight spreads and efficient price discovery, limiting volatility even during event-driven phases.
• Market Confidence: The ongoing high volume, particularly during the recent earnings spike, is a testament to active market-maker support and broad-based demand, sustaining dynamic valuation and rapid price adjustments.

Such liquidity is notably attractive for local South African investors seeking direct access to global blue-chip tech names listed offshore.

Catalysts and Positive Outlook

Several forward-looking catalysts reinforce the sense that META is entering a renewed phase of growth:

• Meta AI Monetization: With over a billion active users, the opening of new revenue streams—from personalized services to enterprise subscriptions—could deliver exponential bottom-line impacts.
• Platform Expansion: The aggressive scaling of WhatsApp Business, including merchant payments and CRM solutions in emerging markets, is particularly relevant for investors in high-growth geographies like Africa and South-East Asia.
• AI Infrastructure Investment: The commitment to invest up to $65 billion in next-generation AI and datacentre infrastructure—coupled with the Red Hat partnership for enterprise AI—heralds a period of rapid product innovation and B2B expansion.
• VR/AR Partnerships: The new military-focused collaboration with Anduril diversifies end-markets, widens margin opportunities, and validates Meta’s substantial technology investments outside consumer social media.
• Sustainability & ESG: Initiatives to green Meta’s datacentres and responsible AI development speak directly to a growing cohort of ESG-focused institutional investors.
• Regulatory Backdrop: Increasing US regulatory clarity post-2024 and stabilizing global privacy frameworks lend more predictability to Meta’s business model and future planning.

Against this backdrop, analyst sentiment remains decidedly optimistic, with multiple global banks and independent platforms reiterating the stock as a “strong buy”—a reflection of the near- and medium-term growth drivers now in play.

Investment Strategies

Meta’s current setup presents several avenues for strategic positioning:

Short-Term (Tactical Entry)

• Earnings Momentum: With the next earnings report due at the end of July, and Q2 guidance exceeding consensus, speculative positioning ahead of results could capture volatility and post-announcement upside.
• Technical Support: Pullbacks toward the $590 support area or consolidations near $645 may offer lower-risk tactical entries, especially if accompanied by volume stabilization and confirmation of uptrend continuation.

Medium-Term (Swing and Portfolio Investors)

• Catalyst Anticipation: Positioning ahead of major product launches (e.g., Meta AI enterprise solutions or WhatsApp monetization updates) or regulatory events is advised for those seeking exposure to inflection points.
• Growth Momentum: Sustained double-digit revenue growth and outperformance vs. guidance make Meta a strong candidate for core tech allocations through year-end 2025.

Long-Term (Buy-and-Hold)

• Structural Holdings: For those seeking to capitalize on global secular themes—AI proliferation, the social commerce explosion, and digital identity—Meta’s diversified ecosystem and continual reinvestment provide unique compounding potential.
• Dividend Growth: With a modest but growing dividend, and the potential for future increases, long-horizon investors may benefit from both capital appreciation and yield generation.
• Risk Reward: The broad float, institutional participation, and embedded moat reduce idiosyncratic risk relative to narrowly-focused peers.

A diversified entry strategy—allocating across price levels and leveraging technical pullbacks—can optimize risk-adjusted returns and capture the forthcoming growth waves.

Is it the Right Time to Buy Meta Platforms?

Drawing together multiple converging strengths, Meta Platforms currently stands at the intersection of explosive innovation, operational excellence, and scalable monetization. Its resilient price momentum, convincing technical structures, and abundant liquidity signal that the stock may be entering a new bullish phase. Supported by standout financials, forward-thinking management, and a unique ability to leverage new technologies from AI to virtual reality, Meta seems poised to outperform throughout 2025 and beyond.

For investors in South Africa seeking quality US tech diversification and exposure to some of the world’s fastest-growing digital verticals, Meta Platforms appears to represent an excellent opportunity for long-term portfolio enrichment. By leveraging its global leadership, relentless innovation, and expanding monetization levers, the stock’s upside potential deserves serious consideration as part of a diversified growth strategy.

In summary, Meta Platforms brings together the essential ingredients—market leadership, technological prowess, and financial resilience—that define the most attractive opportunities in today’s equity landscape. As catalysts continue to unfold and the digital economy accelerates, this stock stands out as a powerful vehicle to access the coming wave of global tech transformation.

How to buy Meta Platforms stock in South Africa?

Buying Meta Platforms stock online has never been easier or more secure for South African investors. Thanks to regulated brokers, anyone can invest in top US shares like Meta Platforms (META) directly from their computer or smartphone. There are two main ways to gain exposure: buying real shares (“spot buying”) or trading via CFDs (Contracts for Difference), each suiting different objectives. Both methods are fully accessible to residents in South Africa and can be tailored to your risk profile. You’ll find an updated comparison of the main brokers and platforms available in ZA further down this page.

Spot buying

Buying Meta Platforms shares “for cash” means you become the real, legal owner of the shares listed on the US NASDAQ. Your shares are held in your name, you’re entitled to receive dividends, and you benefit directly from any increase in Meta’s share price. Most brokers charge a fixed commission per trade, for example ZAR 100–150 per order, or a small percentage (typically around 0.1%–0.2%).

Example: Spot buying Meta Platforms shares

If Meta Platforms is trading at $645.05 (±R11,860 at $1=R18.40), a $1,000 (±R18,400) investment lets you buy about 1.55 shares (including an estimated $5/R92 brokerage fee).

✔️ Gain scenario: If Meta’s share price rises by 10%, your stake is now worth $1,100.

Result: +$100 gross gain, or +10%—reflecting the share price growth (excluding conversion and tax).

Trading via CFD

CFDs (Contracts for Difference) allow you to speculate on Meta Platforms’ share price without owning the actual shares. CFDs let you trade with leverage, increasing both risk and reward. Fees here are charged as a bid/ask spread (difference between buy/sell price), and a daily overnight financing fee if you hold positions open for more than one day.

Example: Trading Meta Platforms CFDs

With $1,000 (about R18,400) and 5x leverage, you control $5,000 worth of Meta Platforms CFDs.

✔️ Gain scenario: If the share price rises by 8%, your position gains 8% × 5 = 40%.

Result: +$400 gain, on your $1,000 outlay (excluding spreads and overnight fees).

Final advice

Before investing, always compare brokers’ fees, trading tools, and service quality—these can make a real difference in your returns. The choice between spot buying and CFD trading ultimately depends on your personal objectives and risk tolerance. To help you get started with confidence, a detailed comparison of the top brokers for Meta Platforms in South Africa is available further down this page. Investing in global leaders like Meta can be a powerful way to build long-term wealth—so choose the approach that fits you best!

Our 7 tips for buying Meta Platforms stock

The latest news about Meta Platforms

Meta AI surpasses one billion monthly users, driving relevance for South African digital business. Meta Platforms reported that its AI platform has crossed the milestone of one billion monthly active users as of May 2025, signalling deep global penetration and growing usage across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—platforms that are highly popular in South Africa. This surge is expected to boost advertisement targeting precision and offer considerable advantages to South African businesses leveraging Meta’s ad ecosystem, supporting further monetisation opportunities in the region and improving value for local advertisers.

Meta’s robust Q1 2025 results, with net income up 35%, set a constructive outlook for investors in southern Africa. Meta’s first-quarter 2025 results showed a 16% year-on-year increase in revenue to $42.31 billion and a net profit of $16.64 billion—far outpacing analyst expectations. This strength was driven by solid digital advertising demand and continued expansion into AI-powered services, which are relevant for South African sectors increasingly reliant on digital marketing and communication solutions. The above-trend profitability and revenue growth confirm Meta’s core business momentum, providing confidence to local shareholders and institutional investors.

Local presence amplified by expansion of WhatsApp Business and investments in AI infrastructure align with digital priorities in South Africa. The ongoing rollout and enlargement of the WhatsApp Business Platform is noteworthy for South Africa, where WhatsApp is the most widely used messaging app. Improvements in Meta’s enterprise offerings—particularly the integration of AI-driven tools—stand to benefit a diverse range of South African SMEs and large enterprises looking to enhance customer engagement, automate processes, and access new international markets, thereby increasing the relevance of Meta’s growth story to the local economy.

Positive market sentiment and technical momentum persist, reinforcing “strong buy” ratings and appealing to South African investors. Analyst consensus remains firmly optimistic, with “strong buy” recommendations reflecting Meta’s dominant position in AI, social media, and digital advertising—fields closely tracked by South African investment managers. Technically, the stock recently achieved a key breakout (up 7.92% in one day mid-May) and maintains a healthy RSI, which further underpins the technical case for continued upside, relevant for local portfolios seeking exposure to high-growth US technology leaders.

Strategic partnerships in AI, including ties with Red Hat and Anduril, underline Meta’s innovation drive and potential for local tech ecosystem spillovers. Meta’s recent alliances—including enterprise AI partners like Red Hat—open avenues for innovation that may eventually cascade to the South African technology sector, offering potential collaboration or integration opportunities for local developers and enterprises. Furthermore, Meta’s ongoing investment in infrastructure and AI research raises the prospect of new tools and platforms being deployed in South African markets, supporting the nation’s digital transformation objectives.

FAQ

P. Laurore

Finance expert

Co-founder of HelloSafe and holder of a Master's degree in finance, Pauline has recognised expertise in personal finance, which she uses to help users better understand and optimise their financial choices. At HelloSafe, Pauline plays a key role in designing clear, educational content on savings, investments and personal finance. Passionate about financial education, Pauline strives, with every piece of content she oversees, to provide reliable, transparent and unbiased information for independent and informed financial management. To this end, she has tested over 100 trading platforms to help internet users make the right choices.