The metaverse was a hot trend that kind of fell out of favour in recent years. Indeed, the metaverse trend seems so 2021! It’s out. And artificial intelligence (AI) is in right now, at least until the next big technological breakthrough causes the next surge of investor euphoria.
Although I’m not against investing heavily in technological trends, I acknowledge that it isn’t as easy as many make it out to be. You see, it’s really hard to know which firms will be standout winners from the emergence of a new nascent technology and which ones are just a flash in the pan, so to speak.
Undoubtedly, mega-cap tech seems more or less like a safe place to bet on the future of AI and other intriguing technologies (remember when streaming was a big deal?).
For now, it seems like the metaverse has failed to launch. The Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) rename from Facebook seems unjustified, given its virtual reality (VR) headset still accounts for a relative drop in the earnings bucket for the firm. The company is still very much a social media (or even generative AI) firm. So, when will Meta and the rest of the metaverse heat up again?
I’m not sure if the metaverse will catch on anytime soon. It’s nice to think about virtual worlds like those in Ready Player One. But for now, investors should be prudent and not seek to put all of their eggs on one name that may fumble the ball in a potential rush to the metaverse’s endzone.
Without further ado, let’s check out three metaverse stocks worth pursuing right here.
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Meta Platforms
No surprises here. Meta Platforms is a firm that’s been focused on VR for quite some time now. The firm acquired Oculus many years ago, even before we all started talking about the so-called metaverse.
Today, the company has a wide range of headsets (the Quest headset), and while they have been popular among certain crowds, I’m not so sure the technology is at a point to be a massive revenue driver for the social media firm, at least not in the near future.
Undoubtedly, for the metaverse to really catch on, we not only need incredible devices, but we also need people to build virtual worlds. Meta has spent billions to make its version of the metaverse. But there’s no guarantee it’ll be the one consumers use in 10, 15, or even 20 years from now.
There’s a lot to gain for Meta but also a lot to lose in the form of capital expenditures. As it turns out, making a metaverse ain’t cheap.
Apple
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is poised to finally release its spatial computer (the Apple Vision Pro) on February 2024. Personally, I’m excited to have a chance to try the device in stores, as it seems to have the very best hardware. Apple always has best-in-breed “guts” in its devices. As such, it will be interesting to try out many of the applications possible in Apple’s new headset.
Though Apple stock stands out as a fantastic mixed-reality play, the company doesn’t use the term “metaverse” in marketing. It calls its Vision Pro a spatial computer. That sounds a heck of a lot more sophisticated than a headset, in my opinion. Arguably, the title of this article should be two spatial computing stocks to buy right now!
Apart from looking the best, I believe Apple could be a firm with a good chance of spatial computer domination.
Although shares are not cheap at around 30 times trailing price to earnings, I think spatial computing believers ought to think about nibbling some shares ahead of the headset’s big launch day!
