--- title: "Big Investors Send Conflicting Signal on Meta Platforms Stock" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/296269146.md" description: "Hedge funds hold divergent positions on Meta Platforms amid its heavy AI investment strategy. While Appaloosa, Viking Global, and Pershing Square increased stakes, Tiger Global, Altimeter Capital, and Third Point reduced or exited holdings. This split reflects debate over whether Meta's $130B-$145B expected 2026 capex will justify costs as operating margins fell to 31% and free cash flow dropped to $784M in Q2, despite 28% revenue growth." datetime: "2026-08-18T20:46:06.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/296269146.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296269146.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/296269146.md) --- # Big Investors Send Conflicting Signal on Meta Platforms Stock Hedge funds took sharply different positions on Meta Platforms in the second quarter, setting up a high-stakes debate over whether the social-media giant's accelerating AI investment will ultimately justify its enormous spending. Several marquee investors added aggressively, while others cut exposure or exited entirely, showing that conviction around Meta remains far from uniform even after another quarter of powerful revenue growth. David Tepper (Trades, Portfolio)'s Appaloosa increased its Meta stake by 55% to about 680,000 shares. Viking Global raised its position to 1.87 million shares from 1.06 million, while Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio)'s Pershing Square increased its holding to 3.2 million shares from 2.66 million. Renaissance Technologies (Trades, Portfolio) added 1.77 million shares, taking its stake to roughly 2.02 million, while Glenview Capital increased its position to 357,000 shares from 123,000. On the other side, Tiger Global cut its stake by about 8.5% to 2.82 million shares, Altimeter Capital reduced its position to 1.35 million from 1.95 million, and Dan Loeb's Third Point exited Meta entirely. The divergence comes as Meta's underlying business remains strong but increasingly capital intensive. Second-quarter revenue jumped 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while advertising revenue rose 27%. Yet costs and expenses surged 55%, operating margin fell to 31% from 43%, and free cash flow dropped to just $784 million as capital spending accelerated. Meta now expects 2026 capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion, with third-quarter revenue projected between $61 billion and $64 billion. **Investors Takeaway** The hedge-fund split reflects one central question: **can Meta turn massive AI infrastructure spending into sustained earnings growth?** Investors should watch ad pricing, engagement, operating margins and free cash flow. In Q2, ad impressions rose 14% while average price per ad increased 12%, showing AI is still strengthening the core advertising engine. The bullish case strengthens if revenue growth stays above 20% while margins stabilize despite heavy capex. The bearish case emerges if spending keeps rising faster than revenue and free cash flow remains compressed. That makes the next few quarters less about Meta's headline AI ambitions and more about whether those investments begin producing measurable financial returns. ### Related Stocks - [META.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/META.US.md) - [FBL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBL.US.md) - [METW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/METW.US.md) - [METD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/METD.US.md) - [METU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/METU.US.md) - [PS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PS.US.md) - [PSHZF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/PSHZF.US.md) - [FBY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBY.US.md) - [FBYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBYY.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Why states fought to present a united case against Meta over youth social media harms](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296209320.md) - [08:33 ETOmneky Launches Self-Service ChatGPT Advertising](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296107250.md) - [Instagram Head of Product Design Explains Thinking Behind That New Logo and Responds to Critics: ‘It’s Important for Us to Embrace the Future’](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296134477.md) - [Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296016447.md) - [Zuckerberg unveils $1B fund and open AI push](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295781059.md)