FY2025 EPS Forecast for Meta Platforms Increased by Analyst

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at William Blair boosted their FY2025 earnings estimates for Meta Platforms in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, October 29th. William Blair analyst R. Schackart now expects that the social networking company will earn $28.99 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $28.14. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ Q3 2026 earnings at $7.69 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $8.99 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $30.19 EPS.

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

META has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $837.00 to $802.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.7%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $648.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $738.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $699.34.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.5% during the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,008 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the third quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,509 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,046,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the third quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 2,827 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 145,304 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $106,709,000 after acquiring an additional 6,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the third quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,979 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,797,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 181,971 shares of company stock valued at $140,461,589. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

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.