Dan Ives Says Meta's 'Frontier Model' and 3.6 Billion Users Make It a ‘Core Name’ to Own as It Competes With Anthropic and OpenAI

Technology analyst Dan Ives has reiterated a strong investment stance on Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), citing the company’s vast daily user base and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities as an unrivaled competitive advantage in the current market. The Shift Toward AI Agents In a recent assessment of the technology sector’s AI landscape, Ives reaffirmed his bullish outlook on Meta’s stock. Posting his investment thesis on the social media platform X, Ives stated, “We continue to view Meta as a core name to own as the AI Revolution moves from models to agents.” This transition from foundational AI models that process information to autonomous AI agents that can execute complex, multi-step tasks on behalf of users represents the next major phase of industry development. Ives emphasized that this technological shift plays directly into Meta’s structural strengths, specifically its massive, established global audience. The analyst pointed out the unique scale of the social media giant, noting that possessing a “frontier model paired with 3.6 billion daily users is a combination few competitors can match.” We continue to view Meta as a core name to own as the AI Revolution moves from models to agents, because a frontier model paired with 3.6 billion daily users is a combination few competitors can match. Arms race underway in AI and Meta in left lane chasing Anthropic/OpenAI🏆🐂— Dan Ives (@DivesTech) October 12, 2026 Read Also: Dan Ives Updates AI 30: Adds DELL, SPCX While Dropping ORCL and PEGA Ahead of IVES Rebalance Chasing the Industry Leaders As major technology companies and well-funded startups continue to allocate tens of billions of dollars in capital expenditure toward AI research and infrastructure, Ives characterized the current market environment as a high-stakes, competitive sprint. He observed that there is an active “arms race underway in AI.” While acknowledging the capabilities of the current market leaders, Ives sees Meta positioning itself aggressively to capture market share. He concluded his analysis by stating that Meta is currently in the “left lane chasing Anthropic/OpenAI.” This assessment indicates that while Meta is pursuing the established frontrunners in frontier AI model development, the company is moving at a pace to close the technological gap and leverage its consumer distribution network. How Has META Performed in 2026? Meta’s stock dipped about 1.34% to $733 in premarket trading on Tuesday. The stock is up 12.55% year-to-date, and higher by about 12% over the last month. The stock closed up 3.38% at $742.96 on Monday. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that META maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms, with a moderate value score. Read Also: Jim Cramer Calls Mark Zuckerberg's Meta a ‘Monster Long’ as Muse AI Retention Proves ‘Almost as Good as ChatGPT’ Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Image via Shutterstock