Meta’s share price has increased for 20 consecutive sessions – one of the longest winning runs in history.
Between 16 January, the last time Meta’s (NASDAQ:META) shares closed a session down on the previous day, and 14 February, the stock gained 20.5%, making it one of the top-performing stocks of the year so far. During this time, Meta’s stock has left its Magnificent Seven colleagues in the dust.
“Meta’s remarkable winning streak… far outpaces the rest of the Magnificent Seven,” Sam North, market analyst at eToro, told MoneyWeek. “Meta’s sustained momentum reflects strong fundamentals, investor confidence and the ability to execute in a challenging macro environment.”
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Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have been hit by a range of market disruptions during Meta’s share price run. Big tech earnings season in particular was rocky for most of the other tech megacap stocks, thanks to the sudden emergence of Chinese AI rival DeepSeek.
In the year to 14 February, Meta's share price has gained nearly 26%, making it the best-performing Magnificent Seven stock of 2025 so far by some distance. Amazon, the next best in the group, has gained just under 4%, while Nvidia and Apple have traded sideways. Google, Microsoft and Tesla are all down for the year to date.
Having started just before the inauguration of Donald Trump, Meta’s gaining streak straddles two presidencies.
It looked at one stage like Meta’s winning run could have ended on 12 February. The stock opened 0.6% down on its previous close, as hotter-than-expected US inflation data dampened stocks.
However, Meta’s shares rallied during the day, to close 0.8% up and extend the winning streak into another day.
Let’s see what has driven Meta’s share price for four uninterrupted weeks, and why it has thrived while its peers have floundered.
Why have Meta shares outperformed in 2025?
For a stock to rise in value consistently for almost a month is a remarkable event.
Yes, lots of stocks post consistent gains over long time periods, but it is rare for these to go only upwards for such a long time. Most stocks will have the odd day in which their shares fell even among the strongest bull runs.
Effectively, for seventeen consecutive trading days, investors have become more and more positive about Meta’s outlook.
“The significance of this streak cannot be overstated,” says North. “Notably, this surge has come in the wake of the presidential transition, underscoring investor optimism tied to potential policy shifts or macroeconomic conditions under the new administration.”
North believes that Meta’s share price during the run has been driven by three factors: AI, digital advertising, and cost-cutting.
He said: “Since its blowout Q4 earnings on January 29, the company has continued to ride the AI and digital ad boom.”
During Meta’s earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg fended off analyst questions about the implications of Chinese AI firm DeepSeek accessing its Llama model for its apparently cheaper generative AI option.
“We want to build the AI system that people around the world are using and I think that if anything, some of the recent news has only strengthened our conviction that this is the right thing for us to be focused on,” Zuckerberg told analysts.
Since then, investors seem optimistic about Meta’s strategy of positioning itself at the heart of the global AI ecosystem, even if the open-source model means that this isn’t currently monetised.
“Additionally, its recent announcement of performance-based layoffs – set to trim 5% of its workforce – has been well-received by investors looking for leaner, more efficient operations,” said North.
While Meta has been kindling a positive mood among investors, its rivals have faced an array of challenges.
“Tesla has plummeted 22% since the inauguration, weighed down by disappointing Q4 earnings and concerns over its future product roadmap,” says North.
“Alphabet and Microsoft, while still AI leaders, have both reported slowing growth in key segments such as cloud computing.”
Apple, meanwhile, has had to contend with losing its crown as the largest smartphone supplier in China.
“Even Nvidia, the face of the AI revolution, has struggled due to the emergence of DeepSeek and what that could mean for the long-term success of the company,” says North.
How does Meta’s share price run compare to the longest in history?
Meta’s 20 consecutive days of increasing share prices is impressive, but is it the longest streak of its kind?
“For context, the longest win streaks in major indices are 13 days for the Dow (1987), 14 days for the S&P 500 (1971), and 19 days for the Nasdaq (1979),” says North. “Meta’s performance is now rivalling some of the most historic market runs.”
Data on the longest streaks for individual stocks is harder to come by, but Bloomberg reported, 16 days into Meta’s run, that it was the longest streak for a Nasdaq 100 company since 1990.
Historical market data provider BMLL Technologies found that Meta’s current streak is the longest of its type in recent years for the Magnificent Seven, followed by two similar streaks for Tesla, which gained for 13 consecutive days in June 2023, and 11 consecutive days in July 2024.
"Any individual stock will have a range of factors that contribute to price, including the behaviour of other assets (such as the price of other stocks, ETFs, futures and options), macro-economic factors and market microstructure," Elliot Banks, chief product officer at BMLL Technologies, tells MoneyWeek. "Unpicking the exact impact each factor has on the stock price on a day by day basis is difficult. However, it's clear from the data that for large caps, runs of this long are highly unusual."
Should you buy Meta shares?
While the surprise inflation news looks like the end of Meta’s streak, that’s not to say that the stock won’t continue to rally over the longer term.
“As long as AI-driven ad revenue growth and disciplined cost management continue, Meta may remain the standout performer in a turbulent market,” says North.
Despite recent gains, the stock doesn’t look bad value for money. The stock is cheaper than the Nasdaq 100’s average based on trailing earnings, and only a touch more expensive than the index compared to projected earnings.
Instrument | Trailing P/E ratio | Forward P/E ratio |
|---|---|---|
Meta* | 30.87 | 29.19 |
NASDAQ 100 average^ | 33.78 | 27.92 |
Sources: *Wall Street analyst estimates via stockanalysis.com as of 14 February 2025, market close. ^Birinyi Associates analysis via Wall Street Journal as of 14 February 2025
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