Q3 EPS Estimates for Meta Platforms Lifted by Zacks Research

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings of $5.48 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $5.38. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q4 2025 earnings at $6.95 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $24.41 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $6.13 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $6.25 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.47 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $7.69 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $26.53 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $6.86 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $7.06 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $29.83 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $655.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $695.00 to $888.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $752.33.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $2.12 on Friday, reaching $712.68. 8,253,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,556,341. Meta Platforms has a 1-year low of $450.80 and a 1-year high of $747.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $692.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $641.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.11% and a return on equity of 38.69%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Csenge Advisory Group grew its position in Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $99,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,616,000 after purchasing an additional 43,200 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 13,793 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.13, for a total value of $9,670,686.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 118,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $82,928,955.27. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,874 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $659.36, for a total transaction of $4,532,440.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,181,574.40. This trade represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 153,473 shares of company stock valued at $105,805,440 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

About Meta Platforms

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.