Following a wave of mega-cap earnings, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction) at $556.71 screens as attractive, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) at $308.91 looks fairly valued, and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) at $271.58 screens as attractive. All three reported in late July, and the reaction split three ways.
Meta missed on EPS as legal charges and severance compressed margins. Apple beat but sold off on tariff-tailwind concerns. Amazon delivered its fastest AWS growth in 18 quarters and rallied hard. Here is how the setups line up now.
Meta: An Overdone Reaction to a One-Quarter Cost Spike
Meta’s $6.18 EPS missed the $7.22 consensus by 14.42%, snapping a six-quarter beat streak. Operating margin compressed from 43% to 31% as $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion in severance from an 8,000-role cut hit the quarter. Free cash flow collapsed to $784 million from $8.55 billion.
The bull case: revenue still grew 27.96% to $60.80 billion, ad impressions rose 14%, price per ad rose 12%, and daily users hit 3.60 billion. Analysts carry a $824.68 average target with 57 Buys and zero Sells. The bear case: capex of $30.12 billion (+82.1% YoY) squeezes FCF right as youth-liability trials loom.
At $556.71, Meta screens as attractive on the setup. Here is why. The margin hit is concentrated in non-recurring legal and severance items while ad pricing and impressions keep compounding. Shares are down 15.52% YTD and 27.79% over one year, badly trailing the S&P 500. Analyst targets are not guarantees, but at a 20x multiple with 82% gross margins, the dip discounts too much.
Apple: A Beat Priced In, and Then Some
Apple posted $109.417 billion in revenue (up 16.36%) and $2.02 EPS, its ninth straight beat. Yet shares fell 9.14% the day after filing while the S&P 500 was flat.
Bull case: iPhone jumped to $54.25 billion from $44.58 billion, Services hit $30.74 billion, and every geography grew double digits. R&D climbed to $11.73 billion as Apple introduced “all-new Siri AI” at WWDC26.
Bear case: tariff refunds added roughly 2 points of gross margin and $0.11 to EPS as a one-time benefit. At 40x earnings the multiple leaves little room for a China stumble, and Reddit sentiment on wallstreetbets collapsed to a very bearish reading of 8 within 24 hours. Analyst consensus of $321.66 sits barely above spot.
At $308.91, Apple looks fairly valued. Here is why. The business is executing, but the market is signaling that tariff refunds flattered the beat and the AI story still needs proof. Shares are up 13.84% YTD, and with 28 Buys, 16 Holds, and 3 Sells, the sell-side itself is split. Patience may be warranted until iPhone 18 volumes and Siri AI monetization show through.
Amazon: AWS Reacceleration Is the Story
Amazon’s $200.606 billion revenue beat by 2.12% and EPS of $5.75 blew past $1.8227, aided by a $53.4 billion Anthropic-related non-operating gain. AWS grew 37% to $42.23 billion, its fastest pace in 18 quarters, at a 39.4% operating margin.
Bull case: AI and Chips businesses each cleared $25 billion run rates, advertising rose 26%, and Q3 guidance targets $22.5 billion to $26.5 billion in operating income against $17.4 billion a year ago. Bear case: capex hit $54.21 billion, pushing TTM free cash flow negative at -$7.6 billion. Analyst consensus of $313.07 implies only modest upside.
At $271.58, Amazon screens as attractive on the setup. Here is why. Shares are up 17.66% YTD and 17% in a week, outrunning the S&P 500. With 59 Buys and zero Sells, AWS reacceleration justifies the capex intensity. Targets are not guarantees, but the operating leverage into 2027 is the sharpest setup of the three.
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