Why Meta’s Moment in the AI Sun Won’t Last

If Meta Platforms wants to raise money by selling equity, now is the time. Meta shares have gone on an incredible run lately, jumping 27% since Sept. 8, when the company released its Muse personal AI agent. Meta stock is now up 18% so far this year, a bigger gain than that for Alphabet, Amazon or Microsoft—quite the turnaround for a company that not too long ago was in Wall Street’s doghouse for its seemingly out-of-control AI spending.

It’s no secret why investors have fallen back in love with Meta—the company has done a good job of marketing Muse, prompting lots of glowing reviews and headlines about app downloads. Wednesday’s Connect conference, where Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled new virtual reality and AI hardware—including a device called Charm designed around Muse—appears to have reinforced the positive sentiment. But let’s not overinterpret the current state of play. In AI, no one stays on top for very long.