This Is the Favorite Tech Stock for 2023, According JPMorgan-Surveyed Investors Despite a rough year for tech stocks, the bank's surveyed investors found one company to be a possible standout.
By Gabrielle Bienasz •
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A JPMorgan survey shows their investors' internet stock of choice for 2023 is Meta — despite the company's terrible year, Bloomberg reports.
The survey polled a host of internet investors to determine their favorite performers and industries heading into 2023. It focuses on institutional investors (the folks who buy stocks in large quantities for the likes of mutual funds, for example). The poll does not reveal the number or who was surveyed, but it is conducted every year.
Of those polled, 41% said Meta is the company they anticipate will have the most optimal performance in 2023, which drove up shares of the company slightly on Wednesday, Bloomberg noted.
Despite a rough year for tech and internet stocks in general, the investors surveyed singled out Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, as the best internet stock out of all the "mega-cap" companies (those with valuations over $200 billion) in the upcoming year.
Related: Meta Will Let Go of 11,000 Employees in Company's First Large-Scale Layoffs
Thirty-six percent singled out Amazon, which came in second. Netflix was posited to be the worst performer this year amid large internet stocks. (Internet stocks means a company that primarily does business related to the internet.)
Still, some industry watchers were surprised, given Meta's performance — its stock is down some 60% since January 2022.
"My immediate reaction was, huh? Meta?" said Dave Briggs, Yahoo Finance anchor, on the company's show Tuesday.
Meta faced challenges in 2022 including increased interest rates and an outcry from investors over its multi-billion money dump into virtual reality. The company conducted its first large-scale layoffs in November and posted its first decline in quarterly revenue in July.
Its advertising business is also suffering amid new Apple privacy rules.
Related: The Highly Anticipated Legs on Mark Zuckerberg's Avatar Were Pretty Much a Lie
Meta's stock has further performed worse than some of its peers. It was in the top 10 for biggest stock price drops out of companies in the S&P 500 in 2022, which dropped 19% in that time period, Bloomberg noted.
There are a couple of factors cited for why internet stocks in general could see a better 2023. Investors said they thought Meta and other internet stocks would benefit from higher company valuations, improved cash flow (read: layoffs), and better quarterly reports after a year of reporting dips in revenue compared to 2021. This, plus general recovery after a bruising year for internet stock, all could help, Bloomberg wrote.
Other companies on the list have faced struggles, including Amazon, which also laid off 18,000 people this fall and whose stock is down around 43% since January 2022.
Netflix, cited as the worst performer by the investors surveyed, had a brutal year marked by layoffs, its first subscriber loss, losing half of its market cap, and a difficult ad market, per CNBC.
Related: What's Going on With Netflix? Everything You Need to Know About the Company's Massive Fall
