Meta stock jumps as new personal AI agent Muse addresses a major investor concern

By William Gavin

One analyst called the Muse agents a 'significant step' toward justifying Meta's AI spending

Meta Platforms is expected to book more than $130 billion in capital expenditures this year.

Meta shares are getting a boost on Wednesday as investors cheer on the company's latest artificial-intelligence push.

The social-media giant this week introduced Muse, a personal AI agent designed to help the average consumer. Meta Platforms (META) described the tool as a "widely available personal AI agent" that is easy to use and can make people's lives easier by working on their behalf.

"Muse is built to help deliver personal superintelligence to everyone over time," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement on Tuesday.

Meta shares rose 4.6% toward a seven-week high in pre-market action on Wednesday. The stock was the best performer in the S&P 500 SPX and Nasdaq 100 NDX ahead of the open, according to FactSet data.

Mizuho analyst Lloyd Walmsley wrote in a note to clients that Muse "marks the beginning of a substantial product cycle" that the market hasn't factored into the stock price yet. He called Muse a "significant step" in proving the return on investment of AI, which Walmsley called the biggest hurdle for long-term investors.

Meta expects to spend between $130 billion and $145 billion this year, most of which will be dedicated to AI programs. But after the company reported second-quarter earnings in July, investors were left unimpressed by its work on AI, according to some experts. Meta also issued weak guidance for the current quarter.

Meta has a few ways to improve investors' perception. Selling excess AI computing power could be a multibillion-dollar revenue source, according to analysts. On a call with investors in July, Zuckerberg called personal agents the "foundation" for new products and revenue lines down the road.

Anthropic, OpenAI and others have developed their own AI agents, but they're mostly geared toward complex tasks like coding or enterprise work. Meta said Muse will help consumers book trips, shop, reply to emails and handle other tasks. It's available as a free app with usage limits, although Meta offers paid subscriptions for power users.

Walmsley warned that the release of Muse could cause "indigestion" for Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) stock. The analyst, who is bullish on both Google and Meta, said Muse could renew concerns over delays with the former's Gemini AI models and how AI impacts Google Search.

The Mizuho analyst added that he was less concerned about any disruption to Amazon.com (AMZN) and its advertising business. Walmsley has the equivalent of a buy rating on Amazon.

Alphabet shares were down 2.2% in Wednesday's premarket, while Amazon shares were down 1.6%.

-William Gavin

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09-09-26 0843ET