Why is Meta Platforms (META) stock up today?

Meta Platforms shares rose 0.66% to $661.04 today, trading in a day range of $649.05 to $666.50, roughly in line with a broader technology-sector advance (the Nasdaq-tracking QQQ ETF is up about 1.12%). The move is modest rather than dramatic, and no single company-specific event appears to be the sole driver.

The most concrete company news today centers on Meta's decision to expand its Hyperion data center in Louisiana into a $50 billion-plus project — up from prior estimates — as the company continues its push to build the computing infrastructure (large-scale server farms and networking hardware) needed to train and run AI models. Reporting from both CRE Daily and Benzinga covers the expansion, which reinforces the scale of Meta's capital commitment to artificial intelligence. Separately, a piece from Insider Monkey highlights Meta's broader AI infrastructure buildout, including the development of custom chips, alongside supply-chain partners such as Broadcom, NVIDIA, AMD, and TSMC.

On the negative side, two reports — from AFP and Benzinga — describe a lawsuit filed by Meta employees who allege that AI-assisted performance reviews disproportionately selected workers on protected medical leave for layoffs. Legal and reputational risks from the suit are a near-term overhang, though the stock has not retreated on the news today.

The macro backdrop is modestly supportive. CPI data released yesterday showed inflation continuing to ease on a year-over-year basis (headline CPI 3.8% forecast vs. 4.2% prior), and Fed Chair Warsh testified before Congress. Easing inflation tends to reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates elevated, which broadly benefits growth stocks like Meta. With a trailing P/E of 24.0 and a forward P/E of 18.2, the market is pricing in continued earnings growth — Meta reported last-quarter EPS of $10.44 against an analyst estimate of $6.66, a significant beat — and revenue growth of 33.1% year-over-year.

Heading into the next earnings report on July 29, the stock sits near the top of today's intraday range. The primary known near-term event is that quarterly result, which will offer the first detailed update on how the Louisiana data center expansion and broader AI investments are affecting margins.