Meta (META)
Published 2026-03-17 • by compoundwithai
Thesis Summary
Meta's stock may appear cheap due to the company extending the useful lives of its servers, leading to lower depreciation and higher reported earnings. This could be an 'optical improvement' masking increased AI capex.
Quantitative Overlay
Detailed Deep Dive
A message in our investor group:
> _MSFT looks cheap here._
I thought, yes , it looks cheap compared to its usual valuation.
Then I remembered something.
And I replied:
> _They’re making it look cheaper…_
It wasn’t just Microsoft.
Alphabet.
Meta.
Amazon.
They all extended the useful lives of their servers.
That means:
* lower depreciation
* higher reported earnings
* and a stock that can look cheaper than it really is
Funny timing, right?
AI capex is exploding…
…and suddenly servers last longer.
Just a coincidence, I’m sure.
That got me thinking:
How one small change in the annual report can quietly change the picture.
* A longer useful life.
* A changed definition.
* A moved segment.
* A footnote most people never notice.
If you only read the last 2 annual reports, you probably miss it.