META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
META offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
NYT
The New York Times Company
NYT has the edge over META overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and lower modeled downside.
META Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
META's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
NYT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
NYT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
META PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 19x | $624 | — |
| Cheap | 21x | $613 | -1.7% |
| Current | 21x | $624 | — |
| Fair | 27x | $803 | +29% |
| Expensive | 32x | $934 | +50% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
META's PE is in its cheap range at 21x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 19x next year's earnings.
NYT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 23x | $71.46 | — |
| Current | 29x | $71.46 | — |
| Cheap | 30x | $74.74 | +4.6% |
| Fair | 35x | $86.99 | +22% |
| Expensive | 51x | $127 | +78% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NYT has the edge over META in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
META Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for META, but weaker profitability. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
NYT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
NYT has the edge over META on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
META Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $32.16 | +9.7% |
| Q3 2026 | $29.32 | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $26.54 | -3.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $27.50 | +7.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $23.49 | -1.6% |
| Q3 2025 | $22.58 | +6.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $27.56 | +41% |
| Q1 2025 | $25.58 | +47% |
| Q4 2024 | $23.86 | +60% |
META earned $29.32 per share over the past year, up 30% from the year before.
NYT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $3.12 | +25% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.50 | +23% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.40 | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.33 | +27% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.09 | +18% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.04 | +20% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.93 | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.83 | +21% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.77 | +26% |
NYT has the edge over META on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
META Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $64.6B | +26% |
| Q2 2026 | $60.8B | +28% |
| Q1 2026 | $56.3B | +33% |
| Q4 2025 | $59.9B | +24% |
| Q3 2025 | $51.2B | +26% |
| Q2 2025 | $47.5B | +22% |
| Q1 2025 | $42.3B | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $48.4B | +21% |
META has the edge over NYT on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 20% | -20 points |
| Q2 2026 | 31% | -12 points |
| Q1 2026 | 41% | -0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | -7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 40% | -2.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 43% | +5 points |
| Q1 2025 | 41% | +3.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 48% | +7.4 points |
META has the edge over NYT on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NYT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $768.5M | +9.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $762.5M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $712.2M | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $802.3M | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $700.8M | +9.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $685.9M | +9.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $635.9M | +7.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $726.6M | +7.5% |
NYT's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $769M last quarter, up 9.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 16% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 15% | -0.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 13% | +3.5 points |
| Q4 2025 | 20% | 0 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | +3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 16% | +2.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 9.2% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 20% | +1.1 points |
NYT's operating margin was 16% last quarter, up 0.9 points from the same quarter a year ago.
META Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$1.2B | -110% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.7B | -81% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.2B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.8B | +9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.2B | -32% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $11.1B | -14% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.6B | +16% |
META usually generates cash, though not every quarter: the latest was −$1.2B, but it generated $28.6B over the past year.
NYT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $170.1M | -15% |
| Q2 2026 | $184.2M | +78% |
| Q1 2026 | $81.5M | -9.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $157.6M | +9.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $199.7M | +69% |
| Q2 2025 | $103.3M | +42% |
| Q1 2025 | $89.9M | +93% |
| Q4 2024 | $143.6M | +10% |
NYT has the edge over META on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
META Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +7M shares |
| 1 year | 0% | +1M shares |
| 3 years | -2.6% | -68M shares |
| 5 years | -10% | -286M shares |
| Available history | -11% | -303M shares |
META has 2.6B diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | $3.3B |
| Q2 2025 | $10.2B |
| Q1 2025 | $12.8B |
| Q4 2024 | — |
META hasn't bought back shares in the past year.
NYT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.5% | -790K shares |
| 1 year | -1.3% | -2.1M shares |
| 3 years | -1.9% | -3.2M shares |
| 5 years | -3.7% | -6.3M shares |
| Available history | -3.3% | -5.5M shares |
NYT has the edge over META on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $79.1M |
| Q2 2026 | $35.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $56.3M |
| Q4 2025 | $55.5M |
| Q3 2025 | $27.3M |
| Q2 2025 | $23.6M |
| Q1 2025 | $59M |
| Q4 2024 | $24.7M |
NYT spent $226M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 68% from the year before.
META Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
META's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
NYT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
NYT has the edge over META on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
META Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 48.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.7 | Neutral |
META's weekly RSI is 48 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (neutral).
NYT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 52.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 65.4 | Neutral |
NYT's weekly RSI is 53 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 65 (neutral).
META PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | META | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 16x | 29% above |
| PE % | 18 | 26 | 8 pts below |
META has the edge over NYT on valuation relative to its sector.
NYT PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | NYT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 29x | 16x | 73% above |
| PE % | 11 | 26 | 15 pts below |
NYT is trading at 29x earnings, a 73% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
META Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $674.9 | 7.6% below |
| 20 week MA | $634.5 | 1.7% below |
| 50 week MA | $630.8 | 1.1% below |
| 100 week MA | $647.8 | 3.7% below |
| 200 week MA | $517.5 | 21% above |
META has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 21% above its 200-week average.
NYT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $67.5 | 5.8% above |
| 20 week MA | $68.9 | 3.7% above |
| 50 week MA | $72.7 | 1.7% below |
| 100 week MA | $63.6 | 12% above |
| 200 week MA | $54.5 | 31% above |
NYT has the edge over META on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
META Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $208.1 | $267.4 | +28% |
| 2021 | $267.4 | $335.2 | +25% |
| 2022 | $335.2 | $118.0 | -65% |
| 2023 | $118.0 | $354.0 | +200% |
| 2024 | $354.0 | $599.8 | +69% |
| 2025 | $599.8 | $663.3 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $663.3 | $623.6 | -6% |
META's yearly returns have swung widely, from +200% in 2023 to −65% in 2022. It's down 6% so far in 2026.
NYT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $32.1 | $51.4 | +60% |
| 2021 | $51.4 | $47.4 | -7.7% |
| 2022 | $47.4 | $33.0 | -30% |
| 2023 | $33.0 | $49.0 | +48% |
| 2024 | $49.0 | $53.2 | +8.6% |
| 2025 | $53.2 | $70.2 | +32% |
| 2026 YTD | $70.2 | $71.5 | +1.9% |
NYT has the edge over META on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.