Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Meta Platforms (META)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers Meta Platform’s (META) Q4 2024 earnings call.
Meta Platforms (META) is a global leader in social media, digital advertising, and artificial intelligence, operating Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and now Threads. The company is at the forefront of AI development with its Meta AI assistant and open-source Llama models, while also pushing into hardware with Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and virtual reality through its Quest headsets. Meta’s platforms serve billions of users daily. META closed 2024 reporting $48.4 billion in revenue (+21% YoY). AI was the central theme, with Meta AI scaling to 700M+ users and Llama 4 expected to surpass proprietary models. CEO Mark Zuckerberg called AI glasses a potential “next computing platform,” while Threads hit 320M MAUs, adding 1M users daily. Ad revenue was up 21% and AI-driven tools like Andromeda improved ad performance. META is spending heavily, with $60B-$65B in capex planned for 2025, primarily on AI infrastructure. Regulatory shifts and TikTok’s uncertain future could also reshape competition. META shares were up about 3% at the opening bell on 1/30…
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Old School Cool Again?
As we said in today’s Morning Lineup, IBM (IBM) is giving the market a blast from the past today as shares surged in reaction to earnings. As of this writing, IBM is trading at an all-time high thanks to an impressive 12.76% gain versus yesterday’s close. That is not only the single best performance of any S&P 500 component today, but the 12%+ gain is on pace to be the third largest daily gain in IBM’s long history dating back almost 60 years! The only two other days in the stock’s history that have seen it rise by more were back in July 1996 and April 1999; both of which were also positive reactions to earnings.
IBM has fallen out of its Tech leadership role over the years. 25 years ago it ranked as the seventh largest stock in the S&P 500, but today it is only the 40th largest. However, IBM isn’t the only leader of the past having come back with a vengeance. In the tables below, we show the seven stocks that were the largest in the S&P 500 25 years ago along with the largest currently (i.e. the Magnificent Seven). Those former megacaps accounted for a significant 20.25% of the S&P 500’s market cap back then, but today’s cohort is even more dominant accounting for over 32%.
As for year-to-date performance in 2025, we would note that the past leaders have been outperforming the current leaders. The seven largest stocks from 2000 have risen an average of 6.6% in 2025. That includes the 17%+ gain in IBM, a 20%+ gain in General Electric (GE), and a high single-digit percentage gain in Walmart (WMT). Regardng General Electric, the company today is a much different entity than the conglomerate from 25 years ago. With that said, even looking at GE’s spin-off companies (not shown below) like GE Health Care (GEHC) and GE Veranova (GEV), returns have been respectable, each gaining well over 14% year to date.
Again, the current leaders of the S&P 500 account for a much larger share of market cap and hence have a much greater impact on the index’s performance. But that is the weaker group of stocks so far this year. On average, those seven names are up only 0.74% YTD (median: 1.93% decline). Four of the seven are down on the year including an almost 12% drop in NVIDIA (NVDA).
Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Tesla (TSLA)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers Tesla’s (TSLA) Q4 2024 earnings call.
Tesla (TSLA) is the world’s most valuable EV maker, pioneering full self-driving technology. Beyond cars, TSLA develops energy solutions, from grid-scale battery storage to solar power, and is a leader in real-world AI robotics with its Optimus humanoid robots. In Q4, CEO Elon Musk reported record delivered vehicles at an annualized rate of close to 2 million per year. Model Y was also crowned the best-selling vehicle of any kind in 2024. Musk doubled down on autonomy, announcing unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) will launch in Austin by June, calling it potentially “the largest asset value increase in human history.” Battery constraints limited growth, but TSLA is expanding energy storage with a second Shanghai Megapack factory. The company is revamping Model Y across all factories simultaneously, causing short-term production losses. Optimus humanoid robot development is accelerating, with 10,000 units targeted for 2025. Tesla Semi’s production ramp is set for 2026, and a new affordable EV is on track for 2025. Regulatory hurdles in Europe and China remain obstacles for FSD expansion. TSLA shares opened 5.8% higher on 1/30 despite missing estimates…
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Chart of the Day: Medical Costs Soar
The Bespoke 50 Growth Stocks — 1/30/25
The “Bespoke 50” is a basket of noteworthy growth stocks in the Russell 3,000. To make the list, a stock must have strong earnings growth prospects along with an attractive price chart based on Bespoke’s analysis. There were 13 changes to the list this week.
The Bespoke 50 is available with a Bespoke Premium subscription or a Bespoke Institutional subscription. With Bespoke Premium, you’ll receive a number of daily market updates from us along with our weekly newsletter and a portion of our investor tools. With Bespoke Institutional, you’ll receive everything that’s included with Premium plus additional daily macro analysis and more stock-specific research.
To see all 50 stocks that currently make up the Bespoke 50, simply start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium or Bespoke Institutional.
The Bespoke 50 performance chart shown does not represent actual investment results. The Bespoke 50 is updated monthly on Thursdays unless otherwise noted. Performance is based on equally weighting each of the 50 stocks (2% each) and is calculated using each stock’s opening price as of Friday morning after publication. Entry prices and exit prices used for stocks that are added or removed from the Bespoke 50 are based on Friday’s opening price. Any potential commissions, brokerage fees, or dividends are not included in the Bespoke 50 performance calculation, but the performance shown is net of a hypothetical annual advisory fee of 0.85%. Performance tracking for the Bespoke 50 and the Russell 3,000 total return index begins on March 5th, 2012 when the Bespoke 50 was first published. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. The Bespoke 50 is meant to be an idea generator for investors and not a recommendation to buy or sell any specific securities. It is not personalized advice because it in no way takes into account an investor’s individual needs. As always, investors should conduct their own research when buying or selling individual securities. Click here to read our full disclosure on hypothetical performance tracking. Bespoke representatives or wealth management clients may have positions in securities discussed or mentioned in its published content.
Bespoke’s Morning Lineup – 1/30/25
See what’s driving market performance around the world in today’s Morning Lineup. Bespoke’s Morning Lineup is the best way to start your trading day. Read it now by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium. CLICK HERE to learn more and start your trial.
“I think in terms of next year, our constraints, I think it’s likely to be just regulatory.” – Elon Musk
Below is a snippet of commentary from today’s Morning Lineup. Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to view the full report.
When you see a quote like the one above from Tesla’s conference call last night, it’s understandable why Elon Musk took such an active role in last year’s Presidential election. The chart below is from our annual outlook published in December and shows the annual number of pages in the Published Code of Federal Regulations since 1950. While death and taxes are the only certainties in life, the growth of government is right up there. For nearly every year since 1950, the number of pages in the published code has increased, and for the most recent year available (2023), it hit a record high of over 190,000. As we highlighted in our outlook back in December, the potential for a halt or slowdown to what has essentially been uninterrupted growth in government over the last several decades is certainly a pro.
The Closer – Central Banking, Mega Cap Earnings – 1/29/25
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Looking for deeper insight into markets? In tonight’s Closer sent to Bespoke Institutional clients, we start out with a recap of the latest news in central banking including today’s FOMC decision (page 1) in addition to how the market reacted (page 2). Next, we dive into the details of key earnings reports from MSFT, META, IBM, and TSLA (pages 3 and 4). (pages 3 and 4). We close out with a look at the most recent update to petroleum stockpiles (page 5).
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Chart of the Day: Sizeable Growth
Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call Recaps: Royal Caribbean (RCL)
Bespoke’s Conference Call Recaps use AI to summarize lengthy earnings calls. The commentary below is AI-generated and then edited by Bespoke for quality control. As always, none of these summaries should be construed as recommendations to buy or sell any securities, and investors should do their own research and/or consult with a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Our latest recap available to Bespoke subscribers covers Royal Caribbean’s (RCL) Q4 2024 earnings call.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) is the world’s largest cruise line with renowned brands like Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises. For Q4, RCL reported 7.3% net yield growth, driven by strong bookings and onboard spending. The company introduced Celebrity River Cruises, launching in 2027 with 10 new ships, signaling an entry into the high-margin river cruise market. Private destination investments, including the Nassau Beach Club opening in late 2025, serve to boost guest satisfaction and yield. AI-powered personalization and other technology reduced booking times by 50%. Strong consumer demand, driven by high wages and a focus on experiences, led to record-breaking bookings and higher APDs for 2025. Fleet expansion continues with Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas driving growth, while loyalty programs improve guest retention. RCL shares traded more than 13% higher on 1/28 after the record-breaking quarter…
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Bespoke’s Morning Lineup — 1/29/25
See what’s driving market performance around the world in today’s Morning Lineup. Bespoke’s Morning Lineup is the best way to start your trading day. Read it now by starting a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium. CLICK HERE to learn more and start your trial.
“Discrepancies – and hence opportunities – in securities originate most often when events move faster than quotations.” – Benjamin Graham
Below is a snippet of commentary from today’s Morning Lineup. Start a two-week trial to Bespoke Premium to view the full report.
Markets bounced back on Tuesday from Monday’s DeepSeek drop, and the S&P is entering Wednesday trading down just 58 bps on the week. Investors sold first and asked questions later on Monday, but once they did start asking questions, it seems as if cooler heads might be starting to prevail.
While AI Infrastructure stocks have fallen this week, the DeepSeek news has caused investors to contemplate an overall lower cost to compute on the AI front, which should benefit margins for companies in the AI Implementation space and also increase overall demand from consumers in the long run.
As shown below, NVDA’s drop in market cap this week has mostly been offset by gains in market cap for the other major mega-cap Tech and Tech-adjacent stocks. Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) have seen a combined increase in market cap of $299 billion so far this week, while NVDA has seen a drop of $334 billion. On a net basis, the market cap for all six of these behemoths has only fallen $34.8 billion on the week.
Below is a quick snapshot of the six mega-caps mentioned above run through our Trend Analyzer tool. While NVIDIA (NVDA) is down 8.4% over the last week and in oversold territory, Meta (META) and Apple (AAPL) are both up more than 7%.
