Meta Platforms (META) Expected to Announce Earnings on Wednesday

Key Points

• Q1 2026 earnings: Meta will report results after the close on April 29 (call at 5:30 PM ET); analysts expect about $6.67 EPS and $55.36 billion in revenue, with guidance and the print seen as key catalysts given expectations of ~30%+ revenue growth.
• Bullish signals for AI-driven growth: multiple firms have raised price targets (UBS to $908, Deutsche to $920, Jefferies to $1,000) and Broadcom extended its AI partnership through 2029 while Meta breaks ground on a >$1B data center and secures large long-duration energy storage, highlighting heavy capex toward AI compute.
• Notable risks and insider activity: insiders (including the CFO) sold significant stock (CFO sold ~56,571 shares, insiders sold ~164,562 shares in 90 days), and Meta faces legal and reputational risks from a class-action suit over scam ads plus reports of employee keystroke tracking and potential layoffs.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) is expected to issue its Q1 2026 results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 29th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $6.67 per share and revenue of $55.3590 billion for the quarter. Interested persons can check the company's upcoming Q1 2026 earning summary page for the latest details on the call scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 5:30 PM ET.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Meta Platforms to post $30 EPS for the current fiscal year and $34 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.3%

META stock opened at $668.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $627.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $650.10. Meta Platforms has a 12 month low of $486.36 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on META to $908, citing stronger GenAI-driven ad revenue potential and reaffirming a bullish view on the stock. UBS Hikes Meta Platforms’ Target From $872 to $908
• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating with a ~$900 target, another analyst endorsement supporting upside expectations. Citizens Jmp rating reaffirmation
• Positive Sentiment: Broadcom extended its AI partnership with Meta through 2029, signaling longer-term infrastructure support and reduced single-vendor risk for Meta’s AI buildout. Broadcom & Meta Extend AI Pact Into 2029
• Positive Sentiment: Meta broke ground on a >$1B data center in Tulsa and reserved up to 1 GW / 100 GWh of long-duration energy storage with Noon Energy — both moves underline heavy capex toward AI compute and resilience. Meta breaks ground on over $1 billion data center in Oklahoma's Tulsa Noon Energy and Meta energy storage agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and previews point to a high‑expectation Q1 print (guidance implies ~30%+ revenue growth); earnings on Apr 29 and guidance will be market catalysts but results are not yet known. Meta Q1 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its price target to $820 but kept a Buy rating — a mixed signal: still constructive but slightly less aggressive than other shops. BofA trims Meta Platforms price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity: a Meta director sold about $387k of stock — a small single sale that warrants noting but is not a major red flag by itself. Director stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: A consumer‑advocacy group filed a class-action complaint alleging Meta profited from scam ads and misled users about enforcement — renewed legal and regulatory risk that can pressure multiples and lead to costs. Consumer watchdog group files suit alleging Meta profited on ads for scams
• Negative Sentiment: Separate press coverage (Wired) underscores lawsuits over scam ads on Facebook/Instagram, amplifying reputational and litigation concerns. Meta Is Sued Over Scam Ads
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta will track employee keystrokes to train AI and preparations for layoffs (reported May 20 planning) raise privacy and morale risks that could attract negative attention and regulatory scrutiny. Meta to track employee keystrokes to train AI Meta Prepares for "May 20" Layoffs

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 164,562 shares of company stock valued at $105,310,238. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in META. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. North Berkeley Wealth Management LLC now owns 423 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Sun Financial Corp increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pacific Sun Financial Corp now owns 3,298 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Valley Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Financial Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opulen Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Opulen Financial Group LLC now owns 744 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $872.00 to $908.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $837.09.

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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