Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.86 EPS

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $3.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $697.52. 23,292,531 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,507,625. Meta Platforms has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $659.90 and a 200 day moving average of $628.23.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,331 shares of company stock worth $101,233,569. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioning ahead of Meta’s earnings report, with expectations for approximately $63.42 billion in quarterly revenue, representing nearly 24% year-over-year growth. Strong advertising demand, user engagement and monetization trends could support the stock if results exceed expectations. Meta Earnings Prediction Market Preview
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI assistant reportedly reached 10.9 million U.S. downloads in its first 40 days, strengthening the case that the company can use its large user base to build new advertising, commerce and subscription opportunities. Muse Downloads
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a Buy rating and set an $886 price target, citing Meta’s advertising strength and AI opportunity. Rosenblatt Meta Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings reaction is likely to depend on whether AI investments are producing measurable returns. Analysts expect roughly $41.68 billion in capital expenditures and an $8.52 billion free-cash-flow outflow, making capex, cash generation and management’s outlook central investor concerns. Meta Earnings Cash Flow Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for misleading consumers about data privacy and ordered it to pay $25 billion in the Cambridge Analytica case. The penalty could become Meta’s largest ever, increasing legal costs and regulatory risk. Meta New Mexico Privacy Penalty
• Negative Sentiment: Speculation that Meta may issue stock to fund its aggressive AI spending is weighing on investors’ minds because an equity raise could dilute existing shareholders. Meta Potential Stock Issuance

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Roth Capital reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $811.24.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.