This Stock Posted the Best Performance in the “Magnificent Seven” in September. (Hint: It’s Not Nvidia.)
2026-10-03 13:10
•Adria Cimino •The Motley Fool
••••• •••• Axe Cap view
Meta Leads the AI Race Among Top Tech Stocks
Meta’s 26% jump in September outshines Nvidia and others, fueled by its Muse AI app success.
Meta’s recent surge shows the rewards of betting on AI differentiation beyond just chipmakers like Nvidia. The Muse AI agent’s quick adoption—730,000 downloads in five days—signals real consumer engagement, not just hype. That the app briefly topped ChatGPT on U.S. iOS charts is impressive, validating Meta’s pivot from pure advertising reliance toward monetizing AI. While its forward earnings multiple has risen to a modest 23x, this isn’t out of line for a growth company with a proven ad business and new revenue streams emerging. For South African investors, Meta’s progress matters through the lens of tech exposure in stocks like Naspers and Prosus, which hold hefty Meta stakes and will benefit if AI success continues. Still, valuation could get stretched if AI monetization takes longer or competition intensifies. Meta is far from a sure thing, but currently offers a cleaner AI narrative than Nvidia’s chip story, at least for the marginal rand investor. this is just our opinion and not financial advice
I would watch or trim Nvidia exposure while adding to Prosus or Naspers as a proxy for Meta’s AI upside. Keep position size moderate given valuation risk.
- META
- Prosus
- Naspers
- USD/ZAR
- AI monetization delays
- Rising global competition in AI
- Rand volatility impacting offshore exposures
7/10
Meta Platforms surged 26% in September, the best performer among the Magnificent Seven stocks. The rally was driven by the launch of its Muse AI agent, which achieved 730,000 downloads in five days and briefly became the No. 1 iOS free app in the U.S., surpassing ChatGPT. While the stock's valuation has increased to 23x forward earnings, analysts view it as a reasonable buy given Meta's established advertising business and progress in AI monetization.
Our take is based on reporting first published by The Motley Fool.