Meta (META) stock gained over 6% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after posting fourth-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations and helped calm worries around AI spending. The report showed strong ad demand and guidance that came in better than feared, even as the company plans to keep investing heavily.
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For context, Meta reported earnings of $8.88 per share, beating the Street’s $8.23 estimate. Revenue for the quarter came in at $59.89 billion, also above expectations of $58.59 billion. Meanwhile, daily active people across Meta’s apps reached 3.58 billion, in line with forecasts.
Ads and AI Are Working Together
While the earnings beat was solid, the bigger takeaway was how AI is lifting Meta’s ad business. Ad impressions delivered across Meta’s Family of Apps rose about 18% year-over-year, and the average price per ad increased about 6%, showing continued strength in ad demand on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta has been using AI to improve ad targeting and content feeds, which has helped drive engagement and ad volume. That progress is helping offset concerns that rising AI costs would weigh too much on profits.
Guidance Helps Calm Investor Worries
Meta’s outlook also played a key role in the market reaction. For the first quarter, the company guided revenue to a range of $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion, well ahead of Wall Street’s $51.41 billion estimate.
At the same time, Meta said it expects total 2026 expenses of $162 billion to $169 billion, with much of the spending tied to AI and infrastructure. While those numbers are high, they came in slightly below what some investors had feared.
What Top Analysts Are Saying
Wall Street reactions were mostly positive. Top Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan reiterated a Buy rating with an $815 price target, noting solid revenue trends and cost guidance that came in below fears. He added that Q4 results give Meta a chance to explain how its AI plans and core business can support growth over the next year.
Likewise, Stifel analyst Mark Kelley also kept a Buy rating and a $785 price target, pointing to beats on revenue, margins, and earnings. The five-star analyst highlighted strong ad impression growth and first-quarter guidance that came in well above expectations. He also said higher spending on AI and infrastructure will remain a key point to watch.
Is META Stock a Buy?
Meta Platforms stock has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 42 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 37 Buy and five Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average META price target of $828.43 implies 23.88% upside from current levels.
