META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
META has a slight edge over SPHR overall, supported by stronger valuation and lower modeled downside.
SPHR
Sphere Entertainment Co.
SPHR offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
META Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
META's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable.
SPHR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
SPHR's cash flow is currently strong, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and balance sheet are under pressure.
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.
SPHR PE Valuation
SPHR has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
SPHR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Stable | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect SPHR's losses to shrink, with revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 has the edge over SPHR on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
SPHR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$3.53 | +$1.64 |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.49 | +$3.83 |
| Q1 2026 | $2.97 | +$13.01 |
| Q4 2025 | $0.74 | +$9.84 |
| Q3 2025 | -$5.17 | +$5.35 |
| Q2 2025 | -$5.32 | +$0.36 |
| Q1 2025 | -$10.04 | -191% |
| Q4 2024 | -$9.10 | -178% |
SPHR is still losing money, but far less than before: $3.53 per share over the past year, against $10.52 at its worst in late 2024.
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 SPHR on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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 SPHR on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
SPHR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $274.3M | +4.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $313.6M | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $386.4M | +38% |
| Q4 2025 | $394.3M | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $262.5M | +15% |
| Q2 2025 | $282.7M | +3.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $280.6M | -13% |
| Q4 2024 | $308.3M | -1.9% |
SPHR's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $274M last quarter, up 4.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -88% | -38 points |
| Q2 2026 | -20% | -1.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.9% | +30 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.3% | +54 points |
| Q3 2025 | -49% | +2.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | -18% | +8.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | -28% | N/A |
| Q4 2024 | -46% | N/A |
SPHR's operating margin was −88% last quarter, down 38 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.
SPHR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $56.9M | -51% |
| Q2 2026 | -$33.7M | +$25.4M |
| Q1 2026 | $136.2M | +2046% |
| Q4 2025 | $180.2M | +614% |
| Q3 2025 | $115.8M | +240% |
| Q2 2025 | -$59.1M | +$13.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $6.3M | -94% |
| Q4 2024 | $25.3M | -46% |
SPHR 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.
SPHR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.5% | +186K shares |
| 1 year | -19% | -8.5M shares |
| 3 years | +4% | +1.4M shares |
| 5 years | -30% | -15.9M shares |
SPHR has the edge over META on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | $16,000 |
| Q4 2024 | $1.3M |
| Q1 2020 | — |
| Q4 2019 | — |
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 has the edge over SPHR on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
SPHR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 4.2x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.2x | High |
| Q4 2022 | 15.9x | High |
SPHR's net debt is about 3.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.2 years a year ago.
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).
SPHR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.2 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 23.2 | Neutral |
SPHR's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 23 (neutral).
META PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | META | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 16x | 29% above |
| PE % | 18 | 26 | 8 pts below |
META is trading at 21x earnings, a 29% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
SPHR PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | SPHR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 16x | — |
SPHR has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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.
SPHR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $117.6 | 5.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $136.7 | 9.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $125.4 | 1.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $85.6 | 44% above |
| 200 week MA | $60.9 | 103% above |
SPHR 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.
SPHR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $40.9 | $40.7 | -0.3% |
| 2021 | $40.7 | $32.8 | -19% |
| 2022 | $32.8 | $19.9 | -39% |
| 2023 | $19.9 | $34.0 | +71% |
| 2024 | $34.0 | $38.1 | +12% |
| 2025 | $38.1 | $93.4 | +145% |
| 2026 YTD | $93.4 | $123.7 | +32% |
SPHR has the edge over META on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.