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Key Takeaways
- Meta is expected release its first quarter results after the bell Wednesday.
- Analysts are bullish about the tech giant. Revenue and profit are expected to increase by more than 10% in the next year.
- Ongoing legal and regulatory concerns could negatively impact Meta's business.
Meta Platforms is scheduled to report its first quarter results after the close of markets on Wednesday. Analysts are still bullish on Facebook’s parent company despite uncertainty over tariffs and legal disputes.
Of the 27 analysts covering the stock tracked by Visible Alpha, 25 call Meta a "buy," while just two have a "hold" rating. The stock has an average price target of $685, a roughly 27% premium to Wednesday's intraday price near $538.
Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, will report earnings per share at $5.24, on revenue of $41.35 Billion, which represents 11% and 13% respectively of growth from a year earlier.
Morgan Stanley analysts recently wrote that Meta could be affected by a tariff-driven pullback in advertising by Chinese companies. However, they said that the firm would be better positioned than Alphabet parent Alphabet’s (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN).
Recent headlines focus on Regulatory and Legal Concerns
Legal and regulatory disputes have nagged Meta, with the European Union last week fining the tech giant 200 million euros ($227.5 million) for violating its Digital Markets Act. Meta plans to appeal against the fine.
Meta’s trial for antitrust began in this month. The Federal Trade Commission has asked Meta to sell Instagram or WhatsApp or spin them off. They also claim that Meta used an “illegal scheme to buy-or-bury” competitors to maintain their dominance.
Meta shares will be down about 8% by 2025. Their value has dropped over a quarter since they reached a record high of more that $740 in Feburary, amid the historic market turmoil which has been a major blow to the Magnificent Seven.
UPDATE—April 30, 2025: This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent analyst estimates and share price values.
