Zacks Research Boosts Earnings Estimates for Meta Platforms

Key Points

• Zacks Research raised its FY2025 EPS estimate for Meta to $28.33 (from $27.33) and maintains a Hold rating, versus the consensus full‑year estimate of $26.70.
• Meta topped Q3 expectations, reporting $7.25 EPS (vs. $6.74 expected) and $51.24 billion in revenue, up 26.2% year‑over‑year with a net margin of about 30.9%.
• META trades around $590 with a market cap of $1.49 trillion and a P/E of ~26.1, pays a $0.525 quarterly dividend (≈0.4% yield), and has seen recent insider selling while institutional ownership is roughly 79.9%.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Meta Platforms in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the social networking company will earn $28.33 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $27.33. Zacks Research has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms' current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Meta Platforms' Q2 2026 earnings at $6.90 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $6.80 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.11 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $28.15 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $7.15 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $7.52 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $7.78 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $31.67 EPS.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $915.00 to $850.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $825.05.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.2%

META stock opened at $590.32 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $704.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $705.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 516 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.00, for a total transaction of $325,596.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,860,951. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.23, for a total transaction of $312,386.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,302 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,245,927.46. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,024 shares of company stock worth $19,233,987 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,119,937,000 after acquiring an additional 59,766,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,990,544,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

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.

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