Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Meta Platforms Inc. to $860.00 from $750.00 and left its rating at Overweight, reflecting updated expectations after Meta posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results. The new target remains below the Street's high estimate of $1,117 and the company is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.8.
The increase from Cantor Fitzgerald follows a quarter in which Meta's revenues and earnings per share came in about 3% and 8% above consensus, respectively. The firm highlighted Meta's 82% gross profit margin as a key driver of the company's recent outperformance.
Management's guidance for the first quarter includes a revenue growth outlook of 30% on an ex-FX basis at the high end of the range. Cantor Fitzgerald characterized that outlook as implying roughly a 7 percentage-point acceleration on a comparison that is 1 point easier, projecting a fiscal year 2026 revenue trajectory that is meaningfully higher than prior assumptions.
Despite signaling continued elevated investment, Meta guided for growth in operating income for fiscal 2026. The company outlined operating expense expectations of $162-169 billion and capital expenditures in the $115-135 billion range - both figures above market expectations, according to the data cited alongside the brokerage notes.
Cantor Fitzgerald noted that Meta's core businesses are realizing significant benefits from AI deployments, prompting the firm to raise its fiscal 2027 revenue and earnings-per-share estimates by 7% and 3%, respectively. The brokerage reiterated Meta as a Top Pick, calling attention to the company's scale and recent momentum.
Meta's market capitalization stands at $1.81 trillion, and the analyst consensus sits at 1.33 on a scale where 1 represents a Strong Buy, underscoring the generally favorable analyst view.
Other brokerages also updated their views after the earnings release and guidance:
- Piper Sandler said Meta's revenue and EBITDA beat expectations by 2% and 4%, respectively, emphasizing the company's continued operational momentum.
- JPMorgan raised its price target to $825, pointing to a robust first-quarter revenue outlook in the 30% growth range and suggesting that this top-line strength should help balance elevated expense and capital spending plans.
- Scotiabank increased its target to $700 and cited favorable foreign exchange conditions as part of the backdrop for the stronger results.
- TD Cowen maintained a $820 price target and affirmed a Buy rating following the quarterly report.
- Monness, Crespi, Hardt revised their 2026 outlook by lifting revenue projections while trimming earnings-per-share expectations, and they raised their price target to $890.
Separately, Meta reported that revenue and operating income for the fourth quarter exceeded analyst expectations by 2% and 3%, respectively, and management flagged an 18% year-over-year increase in impressions as a contributor to performance in the period.
The roster of broker-level adjustments underscores a pattern: strong near-term demand and margin dynamics have prompted analysts to lift revenue assumptions, while forecasts for expenses and capital spending have been updated to reflect management's stated investment posture. Cantor Fitzgerald's changes in particular lean on the idea that AI deployments are materially lifting the performance of the company's core businesses, and that this effect warrants higher multi-year revenue and EPS assumptions.
Investors should note the coexistence of elevated investment plans and guidance for operating income growth - a combination that highlights management's view that higher spending is expected to be productive enough to support profit expansion over the fiscal 2026 horizon.