Major Averages Close Broadly Higher After December Nonfarm Payrolls Report
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 09 2026
0mins
Should l Buy META?
The major averages closed broadly higher after the December nonfarm payrolls report. Stocks have shown resilience early in 2026 after a strong finish to 2025, but the run of gains had met headwinds earlier this week as investors considered cooling tech momentum and the labor data that could influence expectations for the Federal Reserve's policy path.Employers added 50,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.4%, but total job gains last year were the weakest since 2020.Looking to commodities, gold prices were surging past $4,500, with the "safe haven" asset getting closer to its record high. Oil prices also jumped, with the commodity up over 2% as traders listen for more news coming out of Venezuela.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Metaannouncedwith Okloand VistraIntelshares were on the rise after President Trump touted aJohnson & Johnsonreached an agreement with the Trump administration to "improve access to medicines and lower costs" of drugs for American patients, and announcedSoftBankand OpenAI areDecember U.S. nonfarm, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.4%2. WALL STREET CALLS:Wells FargoAirbnbto Equal Weight, citing two years of share underperformanceAdobeto Market Perform at BMO, sees lack of positive catalystsBairdGE Vernovato Neutral from OutperformMizuho alsoZillow Groupto Neutral from OutperformQualcommto Neutral at Mizuho, which sees headwinds to Qualcomm's handset shipments and iPhone content in 20263. AROUND THE WEB:Amazonis planning a big-box retail store in the Chicago suburbs, The Information reportsViswas Raghavan, head of banking at Citigroup, told Nikkei in an interview that the big bank has "significant investment plans for Japan," with particular interest in midsize companies amid an increase in M&ANvidiahas hired Alison Wagonfeld, a Googlemarketing executive, as Chief Marketing Officer, CMO, at the company, WSJ reportsRokuCEO and chairman Anthony Wood believes the first 100% AI-generated "hit movie" will debut within the next three years, Variety reportsNomura Securities reports that Sandiskis on track to double the price of its high-capacity 3D NAND memory devices for enterprise-grade solid-state drives this quarter, Toms Hardware reports4. MOVERS:CG Oncologyincreases after announcing it expects PIVOT-006 Phase 3Allogene Therapeuticsgains after Citizensthe stock to OutperformuniQurehigher in New York after announcing ascheduled with FDAAquestivelower after announcing thein its NDA for AnaphylmBeta Bionicsfalls after BofAthe stock to Neutral5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCELi Auto, with revenue lower year-over-yearCarter'sprovidedand FY25Evolusprovidedand narrowed its outlook for FY25AXT Inc.cut itsChipMOS, with EPS higher year-over-yearINDEXES:The Dow rose 237.96, or 0.48%, to 49,504.07, the Nasdaq gained 222.86, or 0.95%, to 23,702.88, and the S&P 500 advanced 44.82, or 0.65%, to 6,966.28.
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Analyst Views on META
Wall Street analysts forecast META stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for META is 824.71 USD with a low forecast of 655.15 USD and a high forecast of 1117 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
44 Analyst Rating
37 Buy
6 Hold
1 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 670.210
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 670.210
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
About META
Meta Platforms, Inc. is building human connections, powered by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. The Company's products enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets, augmented reality (AR), and wearables. It also helps people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enabling people to share their experiences, ideas, photos, videos, and other content with audiences ranging from their closest family members and friends to the public at large. The Company's segments include Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL). FoA segment includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads. RL segment includes its virtual, augmented, and mixed reality related consumer hardware, software and content. Its product offerings in VR include its Meta Quest devices, as well as software and content available through the Meta Horizon Store.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Profitability Pressure: As capital expenditures rise, Meta's depreciation expenses increased by 20% in 2025 and are expected to rise further in 2026, leading to a decline in operating margin from 48% in Q4 2024 to 41%, although management still anticipates overall operating income growth.
- AI-Driven Revenue Growth: Meta achieved a 24% revenue growth in Q4, driven by increased user engagement and stable ad price hikes, demonstrating its effectiveness in AI applications and market potential.
- Generative AI Potential: Meta is planning to leverage generative AI to attract more advertisers, combining personalized content and shopping agent features, which is expected to generate substantial ad revenue and further solidify its market position.
See More
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- Election Outcome: Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured a supermajority in the recent elections, allowing Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to return to power, which indicates strong voter support for her administration.
- Economic Policy Initiatives: Takaichi's agenda includes increasing defense spending and suspending certain food-related taxes, which is expected to stimulate economic growth and enhance consumer confidence, positively impacting Japan's economy.
- Market Reaction: Following the election results, Japanese stocks reached a record high, with the yen strengthening to 156.88 per dollar, reflecting renewed investor confidence in the government's future policies and economic direction.
- International Market Trends: U.S. markets also showed strong performance post-election, with major index futures rising, indicating global investor interest in tech stocks, particularly in the AI sector, further contributing to the overall market recovery.
See More
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See More
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- Massive Market Potential: According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the total addressable market for AI accelerators is expected to grow at a 16% CAGR, reaching $604 billion by 2033, providing strong market support for Micron Technology.
- Surging Memory Demand: Micron dominates in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and NAND chips, with forecasts indicating the memory market could grow to $100 billion by 2028, highlighting the accelerating demand for memory chips.
- Capital Expenditure Driving Price Increases: With big tech expected to spend over $500 billion on AI infrastructure, shortages in HBM solutions are anticipated, with TrendForce research suggesting DRAM and NAND prices could soar by 60% and 38%, respectively, in Q1 alone.
- Attractive Valuation: Micron currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 12, significantly lower than other leaders in the AI chip market, and combined with the multi-year supercycle for HBM chips, this indicates strong investment potential for Micron stock.
See More
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- Massive Market Potential: According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the total addressable market for AI accelerators is expected to grow at a 16% CAGR through 2033, reaching $604 billion, providing strong market support for Micron Technology.
- Surging Memory Demand: Micron's management forecasts that the memory market will grow from $35 billion in 2025 to $100 billion by 2028, indicating a much faster acceleration in demand for memory chips compared to the GPU market.
- Capex Driving Price Increases: Big tech is expected to spend over $500 billion on AI infrastructure this year, leading to shortages in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) solutions, with TrendForce research suggesting DRAM and NAND chip prices could soar by 60% and 38%, respectively, in Q1 alone.
- Significant Valuation Appeal: Micron currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of 12, significantly lower than other AI chip leaders, and combined with strong market trends, this gives investors confidence in its future performance.
See More
Investor Confusion in AI Competition
- Investor Sentiment Shift: Following earnings calls from tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, investor confusion about future directions led to Amazon losing over $300 billion in market cap, reflecting strong skepticism regarding its $200 billion AI investment plan.
- Capital Expenditure Comparison: Google announced an increase in capital expenditures to $175 billion to $185 billion, exceeding the expected $115 billion to $120 billion, indicating a proactive approach in AI despite challenges from slowing ad revenues.
- Changing Competitive Landscape: With Alphabet's ongoing investments and successes in AI, YouTube's user base has grown to 750 million, and Waymo's self-driving business is outpacing Tesla, suggesting a strengthening competitive advantage that may attract more investor interest.
- Mixed Market Reactions: Despite OpenAI and Anthropic's strong performance in AI, Microsoft's Copilot sales have been disappointing, highlighting investor concerns about its future growth and reflecting differing levels of confidence across companies.
See More
