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Business Insider
17 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Analysts Remain Bullish on Meta Platforms Stock Despite Near-Term Headwinds
Meta Platforms (META) stock has risen 16.3% over the past month and is up 10.2% year-to-date. The company impressed investors with its market-beating first-quarter results. However, macro uncertainty and tariff wars could weigh on ad spend and impact Meta's performance. Despite near-term headwinds, most Wall Street analysts remain bullish on META stock, as they are confident about the social media giant's strong positioning, solid execution, and resilience. Confident Investing Starts Here: Meta Platforms' Impressive Performance Meta Platforms topped analysts' Q1 2025 revenue and earnings estimates, with its ad revenue rising 16% to $41.4 billion. Moreover, the company reported a 6% increase in daily active users across its family of apps (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp) to 3.43 billion. The company is leveraging AI (artificial intelligence) to enhance its tools. Meta's artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, now has one billion monthly active users across the company's family of apps. While Meta Platforms lowered its full-year expenses outlook, it raised its capex guidance to the range of $64-$72 billion from $60-65 billion for additional data center investments to support its AI initiatives and a rise in the expected cost of infrastructure hardware. Overall, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed confidence in navigating the ongoing macro uncertainties. Analysts' Views on META Stock's Growth Trajectory Recently, Loop Capital analyst Rob Sanderson increased the price target for Meta Platforms stock to $888 from $695 and maintained a Buy rating, citing the company's upbeat Q2 2025 outlook. The 5-star analyst stated that his expectation that a drop in spending intensity from China-based advertisers would flatten revenue growth was a 'misread.' Sanderson believes that META stock remains the best non-hardware example of a tangible, 'right-now beneficiary of AI.' He expects META stock to outperform the Magnificent 7 peer group this year. Likewise, encouraged by the Q1 results and second-quarter outlook, Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris reaffirmed a Buy rating on META stock and increased the price target to $725 from $675. The 5-star analyst noted that management's discussion and outlook focused on continued pursuit of the growth opportunities in AI, engagement, and advertising, with the guidance reflecting the impact of macro uncertainty, demand headwinds from Asian e-commerce exporters, and healthy April ad trends. Morris believes that overall, Meta Platforms indicated that demand across its portfolio remains strong, as reflected in the 6% user growth, 5% impression growth, and 10% ad pricing growth. META's enhanced engagement is driven by AI developments, primarily through improved content recommendations, noted the analyst. Overall, Morris continues to view Meta as the 'best positioned digital ad player,' particularly as more supply is expected to come online later this year. Is META a Good Stock to Buy? With 41 Buys, three Holds, and one Sell recommendation, Wall Street has a Strong Buy recommendation on Meta Platforms stock. The average of $696.12 implies about 8% upside potential from current levels.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta Platforms (NasdaqGS:META) Announces US$0.53 Dividend for Shareholders
Meta Platforms recently declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, reflecting its continued commitment to shareholder value. Over the last month, the company's stock saw a notable price increase of 16%, possibly influenced by this announcement. Despite broader market uncertainties, Meta's robust earnings growth and positive quarterly revenue guidance likely added weight to this upward trend. Additionally, the company's collaboration with Red Hat on generative AI technology might have positively influenced investor sentiment. While the market, including the Nasdaq, experienced gains, Meta's stronger rise indicates specific investor confidence in its strategic moves. We've discovered 1 risk for Meta Platforms that you should be aware of before investing here. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 22 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. The recent announcement of a quarterly cash dividend by Meta Platforms may reinforce investor confidence in the company's ongoing commitment to shareholder value. This confidence coincides with the 16% increase in Meta's share price over the past month, which may also reflect positive sentiment surrounding its collaboration with Red Hat on generative AI technology. Undoubtedly, the focus on AI and improved ad targeting holds the potential to bolster revenue by enhancing digital engagement, a sentiment echoed by the narrative that AI and business messaging could significantly impact Meta's growth prospects. Reflecting on the longer-term performance, Meta's total return of over 225.9% in the past three years exemplifies its significant growth trajectory, far outpacing the US market and industry, both of which saw lower returns over the past year. As Meta strives to expand its commerce capabilities through WhatsApp and Messenger, these developments might catalyze further revenue expansion, aligning with analysts' forecasts of revenue growth at an annual rate of 12.7% over the next few years. However, increased AI investments and operational challenges in Europe pose potential risks to maintaining current profit margins. With Meta trading at US$587.31, the share price is currently positioned below the consensus analyst price target of US$703.89, suggesting further upside potential. Nevertheless, this valuation hinges on achieving the projected earnings of US$86 billion by 2028. Investors should weigh these factors critically, considering the persistent challenges faced by the Reality Labs and potential impacts of regulatory adjustments in Europe. As these elements unfold, they will determine the accuracy of future earnings forecasts and the alignment with the consensus price target. Explore historical data to track Meta Platforms' performance over time in our past results report. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NasdaqGS:META. This article was originally published by Simply Wall St. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
New York State Police arrest man wanted in Georgia for sex crimes involving minor
A man wanted for charges of sex crimes involving a child in Georgia was arrested by New York State Police. According to state police, the New York State Police Computer Crime Unit got a request from the Duluth Police Department in Gwinnett County to find 41-year-old Oswin M. Guillen Padilla, of Hampton Bays. Police said he was accused of inappropriate communication with a minor in Duluth. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Police said the investigation started when the minor victim's mother found photos and videos involving inappropriate content and messages sent back and forth between the victim and Padilla. When Duluth police investigated, they found that Padilla lives in Suffolk County, N.Y. TRENDING STORIES: McDonald's drive-thru blocked off after car shot up in DeKalb County 'The Wire' actor says his son was 'thrown 300 feet' from their home in Henry County tornado Todd Chrisley: 'I would have remorse if there was something that I did' N.Y. State Police found Padilla's home in Hampton Bays and interviewed him for the Duluth investigation. During that interview, police said Padilla 'admitted to using multiple social media accounts including Messenger, WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram, TikTok and Instagram to communicate and intentionally seek out explicit content from minors even when he knew their age.' As a result, Padilla was charged with four counts of possession sexual performance by a child less than 16, a felony. Padilla was in custody awaiting arraignment in Suffolk County as of May 23. An arrest warrant for Padilla to be extradited to Georgia was sent by Duluth police, New York State Police said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Engadget
2 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
Meta AI already has 1 billion active users
Mark Zuckerberg told the company's shareholders that Meta's artificial intelligence now has 1 billion monthly active users across all its apps, according to CNBC . He also said during the annual shareholders meeting that the company will be focusing on "deepening the experience and making Meta AI the leading personal AI with an emphasis on personalization, voice conversations and entertainment" this year. Meta will keep growing the product until opportunities to earn money from it appear, such as inserting paid recommendations and offering a subscription service for users who want more computing power. Shortly after Meta launched a standalone app for its generative artificial intelligence this April, Zuckerberg already talked about how it could one day show ads and product recommendations. He also hinted at introducing subscriptions for a more 'premium' version of the assistant. All of Meta's apps, namely Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, have the assistant baked in. It's also available on the Ray-Ban Meta glasses and the company's Quest headsets. It's very easy to accidentally interact with it if you're using any of the company's applications, and as NDTV has noted, Zuckerberg didn't say whether those monthly active users specifically sought out the AI for use and engaged with it in meaningful ways. But Susan Li, the company's chief financial officer, reportedly said that AI use has been growing fastest on WhatsApp, where users can chat with it, ask it questions and use it to generate images. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Meta to update privacy policy
Meta is to update its privacy policy for users in Europe next month and will begin notifying them about the changes via Facebook, Messenger, Threads and Instagram this week. The company said it is updating the legal basis it relies on for product improvements to align with industry standards and in response to feedback from stakeholders including its lead regulator, the Irish Data Protection Commission. "We're also clarifying how we use information from third parties and when your information can be accessible to search engines - for example if a creator publishes a public reel, it will be discoverable via search engines, not just on Instagram and Facebook," Meta said. The company added that this is part of its routine privacy policy updates to ensure the policy stays up to date. Meta said the legal change does not alter the service users will receive and it also does not change how it shares, uses or collects data. "It just gives users additional rights over how we use their data for product improvements," the company said. Over the coming weeks, users in Europe will see a notification on Facebook and Instagram and Threads, to let them know that the privacy policy has been updated, and make them aware that they can learn more by visiting the Meta website.
