Here’s what Wall St. experts are saying about Meta ahead of earnings

Meta Platforms (META), the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, Threads and other brands, is scheduled to report first quarter 2026 results after market close on Wednesday, April 29 with a conference call scheduled for 5.30 pm ET. Here’s what to watch for:

EXPECTATIONS: Last quarter, Meta Platforms reported earnings of $8.88 per share on revenue of $58.46B, topping analyst estimates, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg said “We had strong business performance in 2025. I’m looking forward to advancing personal superintelligence for people around the world in 2026.” In terms of guidance, the company said it expected Q1 total revenue to be in the range of $53.5B-$56.5B, compared to analysts’ consensus forecast at that time of $51.4B.

Current consensus EPS and revenue forecasts for Meta’s March-end quarter stand at $6.67 and $55.6B, respectively.

During the company’s last earnings call, Meta also said, “We expect full year 2026 total expenses to be in the range of $162-169 billion. The majority of expense growth will be driven by infrastructure costs, which includes third-party cloud spend, higher depreciation, and higher infrastructure operating expenses. The second-largest contributor to total expense growth is employee compensation, driven by investments in technical talent. This includes 2026 hires to support our priority areas, particularly AI, as well as a full year of expenses from 2025 hires. At a segment level, we expect expense growth to be driven by the Family of Apps, with Reality Labs operating losses remaining similar to 2025 levels. We anticipate 2026 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, to be in the range of $115-135 billion, with year-over-year growth driven by increased investment to support our Meta Superintelligence Labs efforts and core business.

“Despite the meaningful step up in infrastructure investment, in 2026 we expect to deliver operating income that is above 2025 operating income. Absent any changes to our tax landscape, we expect our full year 2026 tax rate to be 13-16%. Finally, we recently aligned with the European Commission on further changes to our Less Personalized Ads offering, which we will begin rolling out this quarter. However, we continue to monitor legal and regulatory headwinds in the EU and the U.S. that could significantly impact our business and financial results. For example, we continue to see scrutiny on youth-related issues and have a number of trials scheduled for this year in the U.S., which may ultimately result in a material loss.”

UPWARD REVISIONS: UBS raised the firm’s price target on Meta Platforms to $908 from $872 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. Meta is expected to see upward EPS and valuation revisions through 2026, supported by continued GenAI-driven ad revenue growth and potential updates on AI chatbot and other monetization initiatives following Muse’s release, the firm told investors in a research note.

TARGET CUTS: Last week, BofA lowered the firm’s price target on Buy-rated Meta Platforms to $820 from $885. Checks suggest Q1 ad spending broadly in line with advertiser expectations, with no material spending pullbacks on the Middle East conflict, says the firm, which estimates Q1 revenue and EPS of $56.0B and $7.44 versus the Street at $55.4B and $6.64, respectively.

Rosenblatt also lowered the firm’s price target on Meta Platforms to $1,015 from $1,144 but maintained a Buy rating on the shares. Recent news of a new large language model, Muse Spark, is an “obviously encouraging response to the market skepticism that Meta is spending buckets and floundering in AI,” the firm told investors in a research note. However, Rosenblatt trimmed Meta’s estimates for Q2 through Q4, saying the Iran war gas-price spike seems likely to persist for a while. This will impact U.S. and outside the U.S. consumer spending, contends Rosenblatt.

MANUS ACQUISITION: China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced this week that in accordance with laws and regulations, it made a decision prohibiting foreign investment in the Manus project, requiring Meta Platforms to withdraw the acquisition transaction. Meta said in a statement to Bloomberg that the deal complied with applicable laws and that it expected a resolution to China’s investigation.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal’s Rafaele Huang and Meghan Bobrowsky, Meta is preparing to undo its acquisition of AI startup Manus after China banned the transaction. Meta bought Manus for $2.5B in December and quickly integrated the new tech into its systems. To further complicate matters, Manus’s investors have already received their returns, people with knowledge of the matter said.

SENTIMENT: Click here to check out recent Media Buzz Sentiment on Meta as measured by TipRanks.