Is Meta Stock the Next Nvidia? A Deep Dive into Its AI Potential and Future Growth

Nvidia is the king of the AI era, relaxing in GPU glory, while Meta Platforms remains to be that nerd who wore VR headgear and would not shut up about the Metaverse. But head to 2025, and the tables are quite reversing. Meta is attempting to construct the huge, city-sized data centers, an entirely new superintelligence lab, and quite an audience.

Meta Platforms may be the most overlooked artificial intelligence (AI) stock on the market today. While the headlines tend to focus on the company’s earlier failures in the Metaverse, Meta has been quietly becoming one of the most aggressive players in AI. 

The stock is up 30% year to date as of 8^th September, which is ahead of most of the mega-cap tech names, but it sells at a significant discount. At only 25.4 times forward earnings, Meta is trading at a 33% discount to Nvidia as it undertakes one of the biggest AI infrastructure expansions in history.

The $72 Billion Gamble

Meta is going to spend between $66 billion and $72 billion in 2025, most of that on AI infrastructure. That kind of spending is quite unheard of, which seems to be a reflection of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s fortitude to drive towards artificial general intelligence (AGI). The size of Meta’s data centers is breathtaking. Hyperion in Louisiana will grow to 5 gigawatts, with a presence almost as big as Manhattan. 

On the other hand, Prometheus in Ohio will contribute another gigawatt by 2026. To give that some context, 5 gigawatts of electricity is enough to power around 4 million homes.

The firm has the finances to back such ambitious plans. Meta, in Q2 2025, generated revenue growth of 22% year over year to hit $47.5 billion. Free cash flow was $8.5 billion, providing more than enough runway for the firm to finance enormous capital spending without the need for any sort of outside funding.

Meta’s AGI Plans

Meta has also embarked on a furious recruitment campaign to help fuel its AGI plans. It spent $14.3 billion to acquire a 49% interest in Scale AI and hired co-founder Alexandr Wang to head Meta Superintelligence Labs. 

Also, Nat Friedman, the former GitHub CEO, co-leads the program. Prior to an August hiring freeze, Meta tempted many researchers from competitors including Alphabet, Apple, and OpenAI, some with packages worth nine figures in four years. 

Even so, all of it has been quite chaotic, and a number of researchers quit within weeks of arriving, with a few returning back to OpenAI.

However, the firm still has key strengths. Its open-source Llama models are competitive on benchmarks. Also, its unparalleled reach with 3.48 billion daily active users on its platforms, provides an enormous distribution channel when next-generation AI products become available.

Valuation Gap

The usual price in the market doesn’t capture Meta’s AI upside. Nvidia is trading at almost 38x forward earnings as the explicit provider of AI hardware, and Meta is trading at 25x forward earnings, even though it is trying to develop the AI ecosystem itself. 

To give spending some context, Meta’s probable $66 billion to $72 billion annual capex is roughly comparable to half of Nvidia’s quarterly data center sales.

Also, some skeptical analysts refer to the company’s unsuccessful Metaverse experiment, but AI is different. This is a race that every tech titan is getting into, and the stakes are so much higher. Meta possesses the financial might, the computing infrastructure, and the user base to compete directly with anyone in the AGI race.

Meta’s Infrastructure

In contrast to most AI startups that are reliant upon outside investors or cloud alliances, Meta produces sufficient cash internally to support its endeavors. This permits the firm to offer the best industry leading compute per researcher and work on big AGI projects without the same cost pressures as its competitors.

Its downside is contained by Meta’s extremely profitable core business, whereas the upside potential would be revolutionary if its superintelligence aspirations flourish. The market continues to price Meta as a social media firm, and not an AI leader. But it seems like that disconnection won’t last forever.

Bottom Line

Meta doesn’t require AI to be able to justify its present valuation, as its social and advertising platforms are already very profitable. But if Meta’s bet on AI works out, today’s valuation will seem to be low when one looks back. 

Investors who want to access AI without paying Nvidia, can consider Meta to be one of the best bets in the market. Meta Platforms may be one of the top AI stocks to invest in today.

Meta’s business does not require its AI liftoff to flourish in order to defend today’s valuation, it already is positioned as a cash-printing machine through its advertising empire. But if the superintelligence project succeeds, the potential reward could be astonishing. It seems like Meta presents investors with a unique scenario, which is muted downside with enormous potential upside. 

On the other hand, Wall Street continues to value the company as if it were a social media company experimenting with AI, and not as a serious leader in developing AGI infrastructure. When the market eventually catches on, the discount will be gone, and by that point, it might already be too late to get in at today’s price.