Analysts Set Expectations for Meta Platforms FY2026 Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank decreased their FY2026 earnings estimates for Meta Platforms in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the social networking company will post earnings per share of $29.58 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $29.72. Erste Group Bank has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meta Platforms’ current full-year earnings is $26.70 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Meta Platforms’ FY2027 earnings at $34.11 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on META. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $850.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 price target (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.29.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $655.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $656.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $689.03. The company has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $30,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total transaction of $370,724.40. Following the sale, the director owned 5,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,374.26. This trade represents a 10.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,310 shares of company stock worth $18,159,577. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Secured multiyear GPU/CPU and codesign deal with NVIDIA that locks supply and a roadmap (Rubin/Vera, confidential computing) — this makes Meta’s AI rollout and large‑scale personalization (e.g., WhatsApp agents) more credible and is a primary driver of investor buying. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Latest results and marketing metrics show AI is improving ad efficiency — Q4 revenue and EPS beat and stronger ad metrics support the thesis that AI can monetize engagement and help justify infrastructure spend. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional/activist positioning (including Bill Ackman / Pershing Square and other funds adding stakes) is providing conviction behind the rally and reduces short‑term supply risk. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Horizon Worlds is being repositioned to mobile and explicitly decoupled from Quest VR — this reduces near‑term execution risk for Reality Labs but also signals less near‑term upside if VR hardware adoption stalls. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/ecosystem updates (revived smartwatch plans; third‑party “Made for Meta” integrations like Virtuix) expand the device roadmap but are unlikely to move core ad revenue near term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Very large 2026 CapEx guidance (~$115–$135B) raises real margin and ROIC risk — if AI monetization lags, the spending could compress returns and leave Meta exposed to depreciating infrastructure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling (COO, CFO and at least one director disclosed multi‑trade sales) can add short‑term supply and raises questions about timing of personal liquidity events. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal and child‑safety scrutiny (Zuckerberg testimony, PTA distancing, and public reporting on content/encryption tradeoffs) is an overhang that could affect user engagement, regulatory costs or ad targeting over time. Read More.

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.