META Shares Slip Most In 4 Months After Reported AI Model Delay — So Why Is Retail Still Bullish?

A report from The New York Times on Friday indicated that the release of the company’s latest artificial intelligence model, code-named Avocado, would be delayed.

• Retail users dismissed concerns over the delay, highlighting that it would not impact earnings. 
• In January, Meta beat street expectations for revenue and earnings in its Q4 results, posting a 24% growth in revenue.
• Meta expects to report Q1 2026 revenue in the range of $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion.

Shares of Meta Platforms Inc. (META) declined the most since Oct. 30, 2025, falling more than 4% in Friday’s trading hours after reports indicated that the release of the company’s latest artificial intelligence model, code-named Avocado, would be delayed.

Earlier on Friday, The New York Times reported that the flagship AI model had failed to meet internal benchmarks, underperforming its rivals like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

Meanwhile, retail sentiment around META shares jumped from ‘bearish’ to ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, climbing up despite the news.

What Did Stocktwits Users Say?

One bullish user dismissed concerns over the delay, calling it a ‘Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt’ situation. The user said Meta would report blowout earnings again in the April quarter.

Another user similarly dismissed the report, calling it speculation, while reiterating the company’s strong fundamental positioning.

Another user called the stock price dip an “overreaction,” adding that the company’s fair value was at over $700, levels at which the stock was trading at after its fourth-quarter (Q4) results.

Q4 Snapshot

In January, Meta beat street expectations for revenue and earnings in its Q4 results, posting a 24% growth in revenue to $59.89 billion, and higher than consensus estimates of $58.59 billion at the time.

The company’s earnings also beat market estimates, with Q4 earnings per share coming in at $8.88, 11% higher year-on-year. The strong results were a consequence of surging ad revenue, which improved 24% from the previous-year period, higher user engagement, and AI-driven efficiency gains.

Meta provided a first-quarter (Q1) 2026 total revenue guidance in the range of $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion, and full-year revenue outlook of $162 billion to 169 billion.

META stock climbed 3.8% in the past year.

Also Read: Amazon Web Services Partners With Cerebras To Boost AI Inference Speed Amid Mega Bond Sale

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<