Boasting a market capitalization of $1.5 trillion, Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) is a global technology company focused on connecting people through social media, messaging, digital advertising, and immersive technologies. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Meta owns some of the world's largest digital platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, serving billions of monthly active users worldwide.
Investor enthusiasm for Meta has cooled considerably over the past year. Its shares have fallen 17.3%, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 16.3% surge. The weakness has persisted in 2026, with the stock dipping 10.1%, lagging behind the SPX’s 8.5% rise as well.
Focusing on its industry benchmark, the stock has trailed the Global X Social Media ETF (SOCL), which has declined 15.1% over the past year.
Meta Platforms has lagged the broader market over the past year as Wall Street has become increasingly uneasy about the company's massive AI spending spree. While Meta continues to deliver a resilient advertising business, investors have questioned whether its rapidly rising AI investments will generate meaningful returns. The company has repeatedly lifted its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to $125 billion-$145 billion, raising concerns over free cash flow, while the absence of a clear monetization path for many of its AI initiatives, slower-than-expected progress in AI agents, and ongoing antitrust and data privacy scrutiny have kept sentiment under pressure.
Those concerns resurfaced on Jul. 17, when Meta shares fell 3.1% amid a broader sell-off in AI-related technology stocks. The decline followed renewed focus on the company's elevated AI spending plans and the uncertain return on those investments.
For the current year, which ends in December, analysts expect META’s EPS to decrease marginally to $29.51 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is solid. It surpassed the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 54 analysts covering META stock, the consensus is a “Strong Buy.” That’s based on 44 “Strong Buy” ratings, two “Moderate Buys,” and eight “Holds.”
The configuration is bullish than two months ago, when the stock had 43 “Strong Buy” suggestions.
On Jun. 17, Evercore ISI reiterated its “Outperform” rating and $930 price target on Meta Platforms, citing the company's launch of paid consumer and enterprise subscription offerings across its Family of Apps, along with new Meta One AI subscription products that could diversify revenue beyond advertising.
META’s mean price target of $824.29 indicates a premium of 38.9% from the current market prices. Its Street-high target of $1,015 suggests a robust 71% upside potential from current price levels.
