Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTJeremy Bowman, The Motley FoolSat, June 27, 2026 at 4:50 AM GMT+2 5 min readDespite reporting its fastest quarterly growth since the pandemic in the first quarter, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) has struggled this year.The stock is down 17% year-to-date due to concerns about rising capital expenditures, layoffs, and artificial intelligence strategy that increasingly seems undisciplined.Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »As a result, Meta stock is looking unusually cheap, trading at a forward P/E of just 17, which is dirt cheap for a company that just grew its revenue by 33%.At this point, the company needs a catalyst to change its narrative, and it's hopeful that its latest iteration of smart glasses can help do that.Image source: The Motley Fool.Meta's $300 smart glassesMeta has been building out its smart glasses business for years now, partnering with brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley.At $299, the new Meta are $80 less than its previous entry-level glasses, and it's partnering with Ray-Ban parent EssilorLuxottica to make them, though they won't carry the Ray-Ban brand.The glasses come in 26 styles and include Meta AI, powered by Muse Spark, its new and improved large language model that replaced LLaMa.Meta sees glasses as the ideal device for the AI era, as users can easily communicate with them, and they provide an AI assistant that can see what you're seeing.EssilorLuxottica said it sold more than 7 million of the AI glasses in 2025, up from just 2 million combined in 2023 and 2024, a sign that smart glasses are making progress in going mainstream.However, Meta will have to ramp up glasses considerably to move the needle on the top line. Assuming an average price of $400 for those glasses, they would generate $2.8 billion in revenue, though that would be split between the two companies.Meta's AI strategyIn 2025, Reality Labs, Meta's division that contains its smart devices, including glasses and VR headsets, AI labs, and metaverse projects, reported just $2.2 billion in revenue, essentially flat from the year before. Reality Labs lost $19.2 billion due to its spending on AI infrastructure. In 2026, the company expects 70% of its Reality Labs, or roughly $15 billion in expenses, to go to wearables like glasses and VR headsets.Given the ongoing losses at Reality Labs and the company's plan to spend $125 billion-$145 billion in capital expenditures this year, it's understandable that investors want to see a return on that investment. Some of its AI spending is going to support the core family of apps business, and its advertising engine, which brought in more than $80 billion in operating income last year.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info