Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth surged by more than $13 billion as Meta Platforms shares extended their strong rebound, pushing his estimated fortune to $237 billion. The stock climbed from $540 earlier in the month to $669, outperforming the broader market, which saw the Nasdaq fall more than 1% and the S&P 500 slip 0.31%. The rally was driven by reports that Meta is considering selling excess computing power from its data centers, a move that could generate billions in revenue from existing infrastructure.

Analyst Upgrades And AI Monetization

Erste Group upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold, while BNP Paribas reiterated its Outperform rating and set a price forecast of $955. BNP Paribas noted that Meta remains well-positioned to sustain revenue growth and identified a potential future cloud offering as a significant long-term opportunity. The firm expects Meta to raise its 2026 capital expenditure outlook by at least $10 billion from its current range of $125 billion to $145 billion. Bloomberg reported that the potential to monetize data center capacity is a key driver for the stock's recent gains.

Earnings Expectations And Valuation

Wall Street is optimistic ahead of the second-quarter earnings report estimated for July 29. Analysts expect revenue growth of 26.75% to $60.23 billion, with GAAP diluted earnings per share projected above $7.40 against a consensus of $7.19. For the third quarter, investors are looking for revenue guidance between $62 billion and $64 billion. The stock trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 20, below its five-year average of 22, with a consensus Buy rating and an average analyst price target of $827.

Strategic Developments And Technicals

Meta is preparing to launch a custom AI chip developed in collaboration with Broadcom in September, with plans to deploy 1 gigawatt of custom AI chips over time. The company recently released Muse Image and Muse Spark 1.1 to compete with models like Claude and ChatGPT. Despite these efforts, estimates suggest Meta AI holds less than 5% market share. Technically, the stock is trading 5.4% above its 20-day simple moving average but remains below its 100-day and 200-day moving averages, with resistance near $643 and support at $595.

Meta Platforms, Inc. has discontinued its newly launched AI image-generation feature, Muse Image, following criticism over privacy concerns and its default use of public Instagram photos. The decision comes after users and advocacy groups, including SAG-AFTRA, raised alarms about the potential for nonconsensual digital replicas. The move highlights the growing scrutiny tech companies face regarding data privacy and AI ethics.

Meta Reverses Course on AI Tool

On Friday, Meta updated its blog post to announce the removal of the AI feature introduced earlier this week. The tool, part of Muse Image—the company’s first image-generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs—was integrated into the Meta AI chatbot. It allowed users to generate and edit AI-created images using public Instagram photos as input. Critics argued the feature was enabled by default rather than requiring users to opt in.

Meta stated its intent was to provide a useful creative tool and give people control over their public content. However, the company acknowledged the backlash, saying, “We’ve heard the feedback that this feature missed the mark, so it’s no longer available.”

Privacy Concerns and Industry Backlash

The feature drew widespread criticism over concerns that it could enable AI-generated digital replicas without clear user consent. Emmy-winning actor Hannah Einbinder criticized the feature on Instagram, noting it was turned on automatically and urging followers to disable it. SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and media professionals, also urged members and Instagram users to opt out, arguing that anything other than a clear opt-in for AI use of users’ images was “an utter miscalculation of public sentiment.”

Following Meta’s decision to discontinue the feature, SAG-AFTRA welcomed the move. A spokesperson for the union said, “With the dangers of nonconsensual digital replicas well known to all, a feature that encouraged that behavior is unwise. We appreciate its discontinuance. It is the responsible thing to do.”

Market Reaction

Meta shares closed Friday up 5.97% at $669.21 during the regular session, before slipping 0.18% to $668.02 in after-hours trading. According to Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings, Meta ranks in the 88th percentile for Growth. While the stock has lagged over the long term, it has posted strong momentum in the short and medium term.