News · Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) · Communication Services

Meta Platforms falls 0.3% as Muse gains public attention

Session of October 9, 2026 · Published October 12, 2026 · 3 min read

What happened

Meta Platforms (META) fell 0.3% on October 9, 2026, as its AI assistant Muse was being promoted and used publicly. Presentations of Muse — including memes posted by an X user and a Business Insider writer’s account of using Muse to create study materials and practice quizzes — were the main developments around the company. Market action, however, was otherwise routine: the move was an ordinary session for the stock.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 9, 2026, META closed at $718.67, down 0.3% on the day and 24.3% higher than 30 sessions earlier.

How big was the move

The stock closed at $718.67 after opening 0.8% above the previous close and fell 1.3% over the last five sessions. Trading volume was 0.6 times its 20-day average, and the session’s change was 0.1 times a typical daily move for this stock. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% on the day while the Communication Services sector median fell 0.9%, leaving the stock 0.6 percentage points better than the sector median.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 9, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 2.6%, so the latest move equals 0.1 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 5.3%) are unusual.

The company's market value stood at $1.83 trillion. The stock’s beta of 1.64 indicates the stock tends to move more than the market, but its move on October 9, 2026, fit within its normal intraday range and did not suggest an outsized reaction to Muse-related publicity.

The technical picture

On the technical side, the stock traded 0.1% below its 20-day moving average while it stood 12.3% above its 50-day moving average and 14.1% above its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend, and the stock had been above the 200-day average for 23 consecutive trading days. The Relative Strength Index (14 days) was 57, in a neutral range between 30 and 70.

Closing price over the past year. META ends the period 7.6% below its 52-week high, above its 50-day average ($639.73) and above its 200-day average ($630.13).

Momentum measures show the stock rose 11.5% over one month and 9.4% over three months, while it rose 0.1% over one year. The stock remained 7.8% below the 52-week high. Volatility was 45% annualized over 60 days, higher than 64% of its own readings over the past five years, a sign of elevated short-term swings compared with its own history even as medium-term trends remained positive.

Fundamentals and valuation

Over the four quarters through June 30, 2026, revenue was $228.25 billion, which grew 27.7% from a year earlier and compared with growth of 26.2% one quarter earlier. Diluted earnings per share for that period were $26.54, down 3.9% from a year earlier. Gross margin was 81.7% versus 81.9% a year earlier, operating margin was 38.1% versus 44.0% a year earlier, and free-cash-flow margin was 18.0%.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $60.8B, 28.0% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

Return on invested capital was 17.1% and the balance sheet showed net debt of 0.9 times EBITDA. Share count over one year decreased by 0.2%, reflecting modest buybacks or other reductions. Those figures point to strong revenue growth and high profitability, though operating margin compression year over year highlights rising costs or investments that have weighed on near-term earnings.

Valuation measured 27.1 times trailing earnings and 23.0 times expected forward earnings, with a free-cash-flow yield of 2.2%. The price-to-trailing-earnings reading was higher than 67% of its own readings over the past five years, where the five-year median is 25.4 times earnings. Investors therefore appear to be paying a premium for Meta’s combination of growth and quality, even as free-cash-flow yield remains low relative to the multiple.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Meta last reported on July 29, 2026, when earnings per share were $6.18 against $7.19 expected, 14.0% below estimates. The company had zero consecutive quarters beating estimates and an average surprise over the last four reports of 8.5% below estimates. Typical two-day reactions after recent reports were that the stock fell 0.5%.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows $6.18, against $7.14 in the same quarter a year earlier.

The next report was scheduled for October 28, 2026. Analyst coverage included 65 analysts with a consensus rating of Buy and 80% of ratings at Buy. The consensus price target was $770.26, 7.2% above the closing price.

What to watch

October 28, 2026: next earnings report date
July 29, 2026: last report — earnings per share of $6.18 against $7.19 expected, 14.0% below estimates
Consensus price target of $770.26, 7.2% above the closing price
PromtFinance scores: Quality 96 (Exceptional), Growth 77 (Positive), Value 26 (Very weak)
Trading volume 0.6 times its 20-day average on the session

Full META analysis: scores, chart and financials →