Meta Platforms Inc logo with apps by-Melnikov Dmitriy via Shutterstock
On June 16, Meta Platforms (META) made a move that could shift the tides of its monetization strategy by announcing it will introduce advertising on WhatsApp for the first time. This marks a crucial pivot for the messaging app, which has largely steered clear of ads since Meta acquired it in 2014 for $19 billion.
Ads will now appear in the Updates tab, a space already drawing 1.5 billion daily users. The company also unveiled three monetization tools, channel subscriptions for exclusive content, promoted channels to raise visibility, and ads in Status to give businesses a spotlight for their offerings.
All of this points to Meta’s intent to tap into WhatsApp’s massive scale and add fuel to its ad engine beyond Facebook and Instagram. On the back of this announcement, META stock jumped 2.8% and now trades just 6% below its 52-week high of $740.91, signaling investor confidence in the new direction.
Meta Platforms (META), a $1.75 trillion social media behemoth based in Menlo Park, California, has evolved from its Facebook origins into a vast digital empire. Meta now encompasses Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
Over the past 52 weeks, META stock has rallied with a 39% jump. The upward trend has not lost steam in 2025 either, with the stock climbing another 19% year-to-date.
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Currently, META trades at 27.6 times forward earnings and 10.7 times sales, both figures sitting above industry norms. The rich valuations reflect investors’ willingness to pay top dollar for Meta’s scale and potential.
On April 30, Meta stepped into the earnings spotlight and delivered a first-quarter 2025 performance that exceeded Street projections. The tech giant reported revenue of $42.3 billion for the first quarter of 2025, reflecting a 16.1% increase year over year and outstripping analyst projections of $41.2 billion.
The top-line growth was powered by the company’s advertising engine, which continued to hold its ground amid a shifting digital landscape. Ad impressions climbed 5%, and the average price per ad rose 10%, underscoring a healthy mix of volume and pricing strength. User engagement added another layer of confidence.
Daily active people across Meta’s family of apps reached 3.43 billion in March 2025, up 6% from the same period a year earlier. This engagement translated into stronger fundamentals. Income from operations surged 27% year over year to $17.6 billion. Net income rose 34.6% to $16.6 billion, with EPS growing 36.5% to $6.43, well ahead of the $5.22 forecast.
Furthermore, Meta invested $13.7 billion in capital expenditures, mainly on servers, data centers and network infrastructure, while generating $10.3 billion in free cash flow during the quarter.
Looking ahead, Meta projects second-quarter 2025 revenue between $42.5 billion and $45.5 billion. The company has revised its full-year 2025 expense outlook down to $113 billion to $118 billion and raised capital expenditure guidance to $64 billion to $72 billion, driven by expanded investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
Meanwhile, analysts expect Q2 2025 EPS to rise 11.4% year over year to $5.75. For the full fiscal year, EPS is projected to grow 5.8% to $25.25. Moreover, for fiscal year 2026, analysts expect the company’s EPS to grow 9.2% to $27.58, reflecting continued optimism.
Meta seems to be basking in Wall Street’s spotlight, with analysts steadily raising the bar. JPMorgan lifted its price target on the stock to $735 from $675 while maintaining an “Overweight” stance. The firm backed its optimism by pointing to Meta’s entrenched dominance in the social media arena.
In a similar vein, Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein echoed confidence, reiterating an “Outperform” rating and dialing up his target to $775 from $665. His bullishness stems from a recovering ad market that seems to be tilting in Meta’s favor.
Consensus on the Street leans heavily positive, assigning META an overall rating of “Strong Buy.” Of the 53 analysts tracking Meta, 44 are firmly in the “Strong Buy” camp, three favor a “Moderate Buy,” four suggest a “Hold,” while only two wave a red flag with “Strong Sell.”
META’s Street-high target of $935 represents potential upside of 35% from the current price level.
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On the date of publication, Aanchal Sugandh did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
