Meta Platforms (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to get more political and heap more praise on President Donald Trump, as he seeks to develop closer ties with the White House to help shape policy on areas like artificial intelligence.
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Speaking during the earnings call last night, he said it’s going to be “a big year for redefining our relationship with governments.”
Zuckerberg has recently been courting President Trump, calling on him to stop the European Union from fining U.S. companies, which he says were forced to pay more than $30 billion in the last 20 years.
“We now have a U.S. administration that is proud of our leading companies, prioritizes American technology winning and that will defend our values and interests abroad and I am optimistic about the progress and innovation that this can unlock,” he said on the earnings call.
“So, this is going to be a big year. I think this is the most exciting and dynamic that I have ever seen in our industry.”
META Moves Closer to the President
The remarks came on the same day the company agreed to pay Trump $25 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit the president brought against the social media company over its decision to suspend his accounts following the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
Earlier this month the company moved to end its use of third-party fact checkers in the U.S., in an apparent concession to the incoming administration.
Meanwhile the Financial Times reported yesterday that Zuckerberg is looking to purchase a property in Washington D.C., in a sign of his desire to work closely with the new administration.
Zuckerberg wants META, once dubbed “an enemy of the people” by Trump, to lead the AI race and sees closer ties with president as helpful in shaping policy around the nascent technology. The tech billionaire even sat behind Trump during his inauguration this month and then praised him while speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
The comments on the earnings call came after the company reported earnings per share of $8.02 in its Fiscal fourth quarter, which topped the consensus forecast of $6.75. Earnings of $20.83 billion were up 49% from $14.02 billion, or $5.33 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.
Is META a Good Stock to Buy?
Overall, Wall Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on META, based on 40 Buys, three Holds and one Sell. The average META price target of $709.67 implies almost 5% upside to the current level after a number of analysts raised their price targets on the stock in the wake of the earnings.
