Meta has had a nice run since its August lows, but I think there’s still more upside ahead. My investment strategy is to buy quality companies when they’re on sale, and Meta fits that approach. The Menlo Park-based parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp already reaches billions of people around the world. Now it’s beginning to roll out AI products that could open up entirely new ways to make money. Key points Meta’s new personal AI agent, Muse, opens more opportunities for future monetization. The company is expanding into enterprise AI, bringing in new leadership to help drive the effort. Meta’s heavy spending on AI could pay off over time, creating new opportunities that aren’t yet reflected in its valuation. What excites me is that Meta is no longer just an advertising play. It’s developing new businesses that could eventually change how investors value the company. Yet even after rebounding from its August lows, the stock is down about 2% over the past year, compared with an average gain of roughly 14% for its Magnificent Seven peers. To me, that gap creates an opportunity. Why I’m buying Muse could be a game changer Muse reached more than 5 million downloads in its first 22 days, compared with 56 days for ChatGPT, 103 days for Grok and 492 days for Claude, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower. It also climbed to No. 1 in the App Store during its first month. The company already has roughly 4 billion users across its family of apps. Muse gives it an enormous built-in audience for AI products without having to attract users entirely from scratch. I also think Muse’s security and privacy features could give it an advantage over competitors, particularly as consumers become more comfortable allowing AI agents to handle personal tasks. Then there are the partnerships. Meta has announced relationships with companies including OpenTable, Walmart, Best Buy, Spotify and Ticketmaster, potentially making Muse useful for everything from shopping to entertainment and reservations. Meta is making a push into enterprise AI Meta recently hired former MongoDB CEO CJ Desai as its chief enterprise platform officer to lead its push into enterprise AI. Desai previously served as president and COO of ServiceNow, bringing experience developing technology for large businesses. That expertise could be valuable as Meta looks to turn its AI models and products into tools for corporate customers. The path to monetization is becoming clearer Meta is expected to spend as much as $145 billion on capital expenditures this year, and that figure could climb to $240 billion to $260 billion over the next couple of years. That’s a tremendous amount of money, and I absolutely want to see a return on that spending. But I’m feeling better about the growth trajectory and the potential for monetization over time. Meta is still in the early stages of rolling out its AI models and products, but I see several potential paths to generating returns on that investment. Why now? At roughly $744 a share, Meta remains about 5% below its 52-week high of nearly $780. Based on my forward estimates, the stock trades at roughly 20 times earnings and 17 times enterprise value to EBITDA. I don’t think that’s a demanding valuation and there are many ways to win here. META 1Y mountain Meta, 1 year Bottom line The biggest risk is that Meta continues spending heavily on AI without generating enough incremental revenue and profits to justify those investments. But I believe the company has the scale and financial resources to make those investments pay off. Stephanie Link is the Chief Investment Strategist at Hightower Advisors, where her division manages $8.5 billion in assets (as of June 4, 2026). She has 35 years of experience managing money and serves on KKR’s investment council. She earned a B.S. in finance from Boston College. Disclosures: Link owns in Hightower Advisors. All opinions expressed by the [CNBC Pro contributors] are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, or its parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. This content is provided as part of our editorial output for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice or a recommendation to buy any security or other financial asset. The content is general in nature and does not reflect any individual’s unique personal circumstances. The above content might not be suitable for your particular circumstances. Before making any financial decisions, you should strongly consider seeking advice from your own financial or investment advisor. 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Investors can now see how Meta’s big AI spending will pay off with Muse. Why I am buying now