(Bloomberg) -- Even in a market where artificial intelligence winners are rewarded, Meta Platforms Inc. shares stand out.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Facebook parent’s record 16-day rally has been driven by all manner of news — even the kind that has pressured its megacap rivals — pushing its valuation toward $2 trillion for the first time.

“I have long viewed Meta as the biggest beneficiary of AI outside of maybe Nvidia, and I think more people are coming around to that idea,” said Conrad van Tienhoven, a portfolio manager at Riverpark Capital.

While the likes of Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. face questions on when they will see a return on their billions spent on AI, “Meta spent the money on AI solutions that have had an immediate impact on how it targets and measures ads, the outcome of which has been faster growth and a higher average revenue per user.”

The stock fell 0.8% on Tuesday, but the 16-day rally represented the longest winning streak of any current Nasdaq 100 Index component going back to 1990, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It added more than 17% over the surge, bringing its market capitalization above $1.8 trillion. Despite the gain, it remains one of the cheapest big tech plays.

The string of catalysts has been remarkable. In January, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the company plans to invest as much as $65 billion on AI projects in 2025, much more than had been expected. While capex plans have come under increased scrutiny, Meta’s target reinforced the perception it is investing from a place of strength.

While tech was rocked by the emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup that claimed strong performance despite costing less and requiring fewer chips, Meta shares climbed. Investors took DeepSeek’s success as a validation of open-sourced models, as employed by Meta’s Llama.

The firm’s results underlined how AI is flowing through to its financials, improving how ads are targeted to its billions of users. Zuckerberg said 2025 would be a “really big year” for AI. Then, Meta on Monday began notifying staff of job cuts as it focuses on AI talent.

Zuckerberg has also made some high-profile changes that have served to better align Meta with the Trump administration. The stock’s streak began before the inauguration in January.