Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is up 12.05% at press time after delivering second-quarter results Wednesday, after the bell that blew past Wall Street’s expectations and triggered a wave of analyst upgrades.
The social media giant posted earnings of $7.14 per share on revenue of $47.516 billion, easily beating forecasts of $5.89 EPS on $44.83 billion in revenue. Advertising revenue hit $46.563 billion versus the $44.07 billion analysts expected, while total revenue surged 22% from last year’s $39.071 billion.
Meta also surprised investors with stronger-than-expected guidance, projecting third-quarter revenue between $47.5 billion and $50.5 billion compared to Wall Street’s $46.2 billion estimate.
“We’ve had a strong quarter both in terms of our business and community,” announced Mark Zuckerberg during the call. “I’m excited to build personal superintelligence for everyone in the world.”
Following the impressive results, Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Meta to $850 from $750 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The firm also raised its bull case scenario for Meta to $1,100, sugesting 41% upside potential.
The investment bank cited Meta’s second-quarter results and third-quarter guidance as evidence that GPU-enabled algorithmic improvements are driving better-than-expected engagement and monetization metrics.
DA Davidson increased its target to $825, citing strong ad growth and accelerating growth in Meta’s Family of Apps.
BofA Securities and Citizens JMP raised their price targets to $900, citing higher earnings per share estimates and increased revenue growth expectations, as well as Meta’s unique position to benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) advancements.
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