It may sound odd, to think of tech giant Meta Platforms (META) as being dependent on Instagram. But a new report from Reuters says that that is exactly the case, as over half of its advertising revenue in the United States will be generated by Instagram. Investors were oddly ambivalent about this, though, as shares ticked up fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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The report, generated with data from Emarketer, revealed that Instagram stands to benefit, and in a very big way, from any potential TikTok ban in the United States. Users are increasingly drawn to short-form video, the report found. More users means more potential ad revenue, and Meta has been increasingly trying to get users into its Instagram Reels platform to take advantage of that trend.
With Instagram now a “video-first platform,” as Emarketer found, Instagram would be a ready-made substitute. Emarketer projects that Instagram could land over 20% of the cash that would have gone to TikTok if there is no more TikTok to go to in the United States. And given that 53.7% of Instagram’s ad revenue is generated by its Feed feature, that underscores how big a part of Instagram—and by extension Meta itself—short-form video actually is.
Magic Glasses
They may not be magic in and of themselves, but Meta Platforms’ Ray-Ban smart glasses have just delivered an exciting new feature: real-time language translation. Now, should you happen to find yourself in a country where you do not speak the language—and for Americans that is easier than you might think—the Meta glasses will translate in real-time.
The feature in question works in a couple of different ways. The translation can take place via the built-in speakers in the glasses, or a transcript can be sent directly to your phone. However, only members of the Early Access Program will be able to get in on the live translations. Also, those people need to live in the United States or Canada. At least, for now; reports suggest the translation software will go wider in the future.
Is Meta Platforms a Buy, Sell or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on META stock based on 40 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 78.04% rally in its share price over the past year, the average META price target of $666.21 per share implies 7.11% upside potential.
