- Meta's Q3 earnings report on Wednesday is expected to show strong AI-driven revenue growth.
- Meta's AI spending, including a $15 billion stake in ScaleAI, should boost investor confidence.
- Keep an eye on how Alphabet's earnings perform on Wednesday as well, some analysts say.
Meta will be among the handful of tech titans reporting earnings midweek, and investors are eager for fresh insights into the social media company's AI ambitions.
Meta will deliver its third-quarter earnings report after the closing bell on Wednesday. The firm's share price is up 29% year-to-date, as investors continue to reward companies that are pursuing big AI goals.
Meta is estimated to spend around $70 billion on AI hardware projects in 2025, and recently spent about $14 billion to take a large stake in ScaleAI to help speed up their goal to reach AI "superintelligence."
Wall Street is expecting the tech giant to post revenue of $49.57 billion and earnings per share of $6.72.
BI
Here's what analysts say they'll be listening for during Meta's earnings call.
Bank of America
In some ways, Wednesday might end up as a competition between Meta and Alphabet, which is also reporting earnings.
"Meta will report concurrently with Alphabet & we think investors will focus on revenue growth differentials & relative margin performance," Bank of America analysts wrote.
The bank continued: "Meta should compare well, we expect 23% y/y growth vs 13% for Google properties in 3Q, with Meta possibly accelerating on AI driven improvements in targeting, deeper CRM integrations, video model unification & growing advertiser adoption of Gen-AI-powered creative tools."
BofA also said to watch for positive guidance from Meta on its AI projects, and that an unfavorable outlook could turn investors sour on the stock.
"We think updates on Meta's AI outlook will be a call focus and critical for sentiment," the bank said.
The bank has a $900 price target on Meta stock, a 19% increase from current levels.
JPMorgan
In JPMorgan's Q3 earnings preview note, analyst Doug Annuth said Meta stock "remains a top pick."
"We're bullish on AI Ad improvements, Reels, & Video. META continues to execute well across its AI strategy & push toward personal superintelligence prioritizing ads, engagement, business messaging, Meta AI, & AI Devices."
The top AI strategy update to watch for is on its "Superintelligence" team, led by ScaleAI founder Alexandr Wang. The unit just laid off 600 workers last week.
Annuth has an $875 price target on the stock and rates it "Overweight." His target implies 15% upside.
CFRA
CFRA thinks Meta will live up to high growth expectations.
"Ahead of Q3 2025 results on October 29, we believe consensus views are well aligned with reality, as META's AI investments allow it to outpace the broader digital ad market," CFRA said in a note. "We currently see META posting a growth pace of about 21%-22% in Q3."
Expect Meta's AI spending plans to stay elevated, in the $66-72 billion range for 2025, the firm said.
CFRA rates the stock a "Buy" and has an $880 price target for the stock, representing potential upside of 16%.
DA Davidson
Like, BofA, DA Davidson also said to watch how Meta does compared to Alphabet.
"We expect META to continue outgrowing Google's ad revenue, though growth may decelerate on tougher comps (including elections)," the firm said in a client note. "We do not expect growth at Google to decelerate significantly, though we are monitoring OpenAI closely, as we believe the likely introduction of advertising around ChatGPT may create a headwind for Google Search advertising growth."
DA Davidson has an $825 price target and a "Buy" rating on Meta.
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