META
Meta Platforms, Inc.
META has the edge over ZD overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and lower modeled downside.
ZD
Ziff Davis, Inc.
ZD offers stronger valuation, 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.
ZD Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable | |
| Strong |
ZD's profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its cash flow is stable, but its revenue is 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.
ZD PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current | 3.1x | $51.69 | — |
| Forward | 9x | $51.69 | — |
| Cheap | 12x | $199 | +285% |
| Fair | 26x | $438 | +748% |
| Expensive | 44x | $751 | +1352% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ZD 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.
ZD Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly deteriorating | |
| Growth | |
| Decline | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect ZD's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, but its revenue to decline.
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.
ZD Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.76 | -66% |
| Q3 2026 | $16.96 | +547% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.72 | +1007% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.18 | -33% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.15 | -19% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.62 | +110% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.60 | -5.3% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.75 | +37% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.42 | +60% |
ZD earned $16.96 per share over the past year, about six times what it earned the year before.
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 ZD 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 ZD on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
ZD Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $289.3M | -20% |
| Q2 2026 | $286.7M | -19% |
| Q1 2026 | $267.6M | -19% |
| Q4 2025 | $406.7M | -1.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $363.7M | +2.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $352.2M | +9.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $328.6M | +4.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $412.8M | +5.9% |
ZD's revenue has slid since its 2020 peak: $289M last quarter, down 20% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -12% | -19 points |
| Q2 2026 | -16% | -25 points |
| Q1 2026 | 1.1% | -9.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 21% | +2.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 7.8% | +16 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.5% | +0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | -0.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 19% | -1.7 points |
ZD's operating margin was −12% last quarter, down 19 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
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.
ZD Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$100.1M | -193% |
| Q2 2026 | $54M | +100% |
| Q1 2026 | -$3.2M | +$1.8M |
| Q4 2025 | $157.8M | +20% |
| Q3 2025 | $108.2M | +35% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.9M | +7.5% |
| Q1 2025 | -$5M | -111% |
| Q4 2024 | $131.1M | +99% |
ZD 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.
ZD Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -7.2% | -2.6M shares |
| 1 year | -17% | -6.8M shares |
| 3 years | -27% | -12.3M shares |
| 5 years | -31% | -14.8M shares |
| Available history | -32% | -15.7M shares |
ZD has the edge over META on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92M |
| Q2 2026 | $121.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $51.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $60.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $44.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $33.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $34.9M |
| Q4 2024 | $1.2M |
ZD spent $326M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 185% 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).
ZD Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -2.6x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.1x | Healthy |
ZD 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).
ZD Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 33.8 | Neutral |
ZD's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 34 (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.
ZD PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | ZD | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 3.1x | 16x | 82% below |
| PE % | 1 | 26 | 25 pts below |
ZD has the edge over META on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
ZD Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $54.9 | 5.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $54.7 | 5.4% below |
| 50 week MA | $45.9 | 13% above |
| 100 week MA | $42.1 | 23% above |
| 200 week MA | $52.4 | 1.3% below |
ZD 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.
ZD Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $81.8 | $84.9 | +3.8% |
| 2021 | $84.9 | $111.0 | +31% |
| 2022 | $111.0 | $78.0 | -30% |
| 2023 | $78.0 | $67.2 | -14% |
| 2024 | $67.2 | $55.4 | -18% |
| 2025 | $55.4 | $35.9 | -35% |
| 2026 YTD | $35.9 | $51.7 | +44% |
ZD has the edge over META on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.