Erste Group Bank Predicts Meta Platforms FY2027 Earnings

Key Points

• Erste Group slightly raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for Meta to $34.44 (from $34.28) but kept a "Hold" rating, versus the market consensus full‑year estimate of $29.83 per share.
• Q1 beat: Meta reported EPS of $10.44 (vs. $6.67 consensus) and revenue of $56.31B, yet shares fell after hours as management raised capital‑expenditure guidance to scale AI, raising concerns about near‑term free cash flow.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with an average price target of $837.09 and a majority of Buy/Strong Buy ratings, while insiders have sold shares and institutional investors own about 79.9% of the stock.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2027 EPS estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a report issued on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings of $34.44 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $34.28. Erste Group Bank has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $29.83 per share.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on META. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $837.09.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $669.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $630.28 and a 200-day moving average of $648.65. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total transaction of $421,958.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,232.48. The trade was a 20.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 167,155 shares of company stock valued at $107,067,129 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat — Meta reported a sizeable revenue and EPS beat for Q1 (revenue $56.3B; EPS well above consensus), reinforcing core ad momentum and AI-driven monetization. PR Newswire: Meta Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Energy strategy for AI — Meta signed partnerships (space-based solar, long-duration storage) to secure continuous power for AI data centers, addressing long-term energy/ESG risk for heavy compute. InsiderMonkey: Meta Pursues Space Solar
• Positive Sentiment: Payments/creator innovation — Meta launched a pilot to pay creators in USDC (stablecoin) in select markets, a monetization/creator-economy initiative that could broaden payment options and cross-border flexibility. Bitcoin.com: Meta Launches USDC Payouts
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying — Alecta (pension fund) increased its stake, signaling some investor confidence following the quarter. TipRanks: Alecta Boosts Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst model tweaks — Erste Group slightly raised FY2027 EPS estimates (small change), keeping a cautious "Hold" stance; analysts remain split on valuation vs. heavy capex.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales — COO Javier Oliván sold shares via a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; notable for size but disclosed as planned. SEC: Insider Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Steep capex lift & AI spending — Meta raised capital expenditure guidance materially to scale AI data centers; investors punished the stock on concerns about near-term free cash flow and returns on this multiyear investment. Reuters: Meta Lifts CapEx Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: After-hours selloff — Despite the beat, shares fell sharply in extended trading as the market focused on higher spend and mixed guidance. Invezz: Meta Stock Plunges 6%
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk — EU regulators charged Meta under the Digital Services Act for failing to keep under‑13s off its platforms; possible fines and added compliance costs are a material tail risk. Reuters: EU Charges Over Underage Users
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses & deal headwinds — Reality Labs posted another multi‑billion operating loss and Meta reportedly must unwind/cancel its Manus acquisition after Chinese restrictions, highlighting costly bets with uncertain payback. CNBC: Reality Labs Loss InsiderMonkey: Manus Acquisition Blocked

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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