Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp at Social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), has refuted chatter of advertisement placements on the popular messaging app. Earlier, a Financial Times report had indicated that the company was evaluating the move to increase its revenue.
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According to the report, Meta has looked at multiple options, including ads in conversation lists and a subscription fee to enjoy an ad-free experience. However, multiple people in the company are not in favor of this move.
Meta acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, and since then, the app has soared in popularity, currently boasting over 200 million monthly active users worldwide. That’s nearly a 4x jump in about three years.
Meta has been experiencing pressure on its advertising revenue amidst current macroeconomic uncertainty, and its bets on the metaverse, VR products, and, most recently, an alternative for X (formerly Twitter) haven’t really escaped gravity.
The company is also in the process of developing a new artificial intelligence system with the goal of making it as powerful as OpenAI’s most advanced model, ChatGPT-4. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is looking to establish Meta as a key player in the AI landscape.
Overall, the Street has a consensus price target of $376.19 for Meta, accompanied by a Strong Buy consensus rating. This points to a 23% potential upside in the stock.
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