Several leading Wall Street firms have recently increased their price targets for Meta Platforms, reflecting growing confidence in the company’s long-term prospects. Jefferies maintained its “Buy” rating and lifted its target to $910, highlighting stronger ad monetization and improving returns on AI investments. Jefferies’ analysis cites a narrowing valuation gap with peers despite Meta’s ongoing AI infrastructure spending. Meanwhile, Jefferies’ peer Stifel affirmed a “Buy” rating with a $785 target, noting that Instagram Reels now contributes over 50% of ad impressions on the platform. Consensus among 44 analysts on TipRanks shows a Strong Buy sentiment, with average upside of roughly 24% over the next 12 months.

In the most recent quarter, Meta delivered 26% year-over-year revenue growth driven by a 14% increase in ad impressions and a 10% rise in average price per ad. Total daily active users surpassed 3.5 billion, up 8%. Operating income grew solidly, though at a slightly slower pace than revenue, reflecting stepped-up investments: operating margin held near 40%, down from 43% a year earlier. Capital expenditures reached approximately $19 billion, up more than 30% year-over-year as Meta expands AI compute capacity to support new product launches and anticipated ad personalization features.

Meta forecasts that capital spending will be “notably larger” in the coming fiscal year, driven by additional AI data-center build-out and amortization of custom AI hardware. While free cash flow dipped to about $10.6 billion from $15.5 billion year-over-year, management emphasizes that these investments are foundational to scaling AI-driven services—ranging from automated ad placements to AI chat experiences. The company’s multi-year deals with major hyperscalers to power new AI applications further validate the strategy.

Investors are eyeing the next earnings release and updated capital-expenditure guidance as primary near-term catalysts. Strong revenue beats or higher-efficiency AI tools could drive upside, whereas any disappointments in ad-demand or steeper-than-expected infrastructure costs may weigh heavily on the shares. Regulatory scrutiny around teen usage of AI features and ongoing trials over children’s safety add legal risk, while competition from other AI-focused platforms could pressure future monetization. Careful monitoring of these factors will be critical for those considering an investment in Meta Platforms.