Analysts Set Expectations for Meta Platforms Q2 Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Investment analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a report released on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson analyst G. Luria expects that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $5.63 for the quarter. DA Davidson currently has a "Buy" rating and a $650.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' FY2026 earnings at $25.60 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $683.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $24.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $597.02. 24,702,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,455,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $442.65 and a 12 month high of $740.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $575.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $603.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,198,005 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $111,948,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,553 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,181,127 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,719,970,000 after buying an additional 1,020,519 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,777,282,000 after buying an additional 1,049,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $23,606,338,000 after buying an additional 1,141,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $19,949,512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 12,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $706.72, for a total value of $9,169,692.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $121,588,349.12. This trade represents a 7.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $676.00, for a total transaction of $279,188.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,449 shares in the company, valued at $10,443,524. This trade represents a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 237,017 shares of company stock valued at $167,207,524 in the last three months. 13.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Meta Platforms's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 8.19%.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.