Baird Cuts Meta's Price Target to $815, Maintains Outperform Rating
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 27 2025
0mins
Should l Buy META?
Source: Yahoo Finance
- Price Target Adjustment: Baird has lowered Meta's price target from $820 to $815, yet analysts still encourage investors to buy the dip, reflecting confidence in the company's future performance despite the cut.
- Market Sentiment Analysis: Analyst Colin Sebastian noted that Meta has become a controversial battleground stock; while near-term sentiment risks remain, expectations are now better balanced compared to three months ago, indicating an improvement in investor sentiment.
- Future Outlook: Although mixed sentiment may persist into early 2026, Sebastian believes that the narrative could shift more positively throughout the year due to potential margin-clearing events, the launch of the next Llama model, and advancements in monetizing WhatsApp and Threads.
- Investment Potential Assessment: Meta's ongoing investments in advertising capabilities, artificial intelligence, and the metaverse highlight its growth potential, although some AI stocks are perceived to offer greater upside and lower downside risks, prompting investors to choose wisely.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy META?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on META
Wall Street analysts forecast META stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for META is 824.71 USD with a low forecast of 655.15 USD and a high forecast of 1117 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
44 Analyst Rating
37 Buy
6 Hold
1 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 670.210
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 670.210
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
About META
Meta Platforms, Inc. is building human connections, powered by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. The Company's products enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets, augmented reality (AR), and wearables. It also helps people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enabling people to share their experiences, ideas, photos, videos, and other content with audiences ranging from their closest family members and friends to the public at large. The Company's segments include Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL). FoA segment includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads. RL segment includes its virtual, augmented, and mixed reality related consumer hardware, software and content. Its product offerings in VR include its Meta Quest devices, as well as software and content available through the Meta Horizon Store.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Meta Increases AI Investment, Profitability Under Pressure
- AI Budget Surge: Meta plans to increase its capital expenditures to $135 billion in 2026, an 87% rise from last year, aimed at supporting its AI Superintelligence team, which is expected to drive future technological innovation and market competitiveness.
- Profitability Pressure: As capital expenditures rise, Meta's depreciation expenses increased by 20% in 2025 and are expected to rise further in 2026, leading to a decline in operating margin from 48% in Q4 2024 to 41%, although management still anticipates overall operating income growth.
- AI-Driven Revenue Growth: Meta achieved a 24% revenue growth in Q4, driven by increased user engagement and stable ad price hikes, demonstrating its effectiveness in AI applications and market potential.
- Generative AI Potential: Meta is planning to leverage generative AI to attract more advertisers, combining personalized content and shopping agent features, which is expected to generate substantial ad revenue and further solidify its market position.
See More
Meta Tests Standalone Platform 'Vibes'
- Standalone App Testing: Meta is testing the standalone 'Vibes' platform, which allows users to create and share only AI-generated videos, aiming to enhance user experience and attract more content creators.
- User Growth Trend: Since its launch within the Meta AI app in September last year, 'Vibes' has gained strong early user engagement, with Meta noting that users are increasingly leaning into this format for creation and sharing.
- Immersive Experience: The new app provides a focused and immersive environment designed to enhance the experience of creating and discovering AI-generated videos, thereby driving user engagement and community interaction.
- Future Expansion Plans: Meta indicated plans to further expand the app based on community feedback, demonstrating the company's commitment to user needs and strategic positioning for future growth.
See More
Google CEO Highlights AI Demand Outpacing Capacity Constraints
- Surging AI Demand: Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted during the earnings call that the rapid rise in AI demand has become the company's biggest near-term challenge, particularly as its 'AI-first' strategy collides with real-world constraints.
- Infrastructure Bottlenecks: Pichai emphasized that factors such as power availability, land, and supply chain issues have emerged as critical bottlenecks for Google's data center expansion, impacting the company's growth potential in the AI sector.
- Strong Financial Performance: Alphabet reported fourth-quarter revenue of $113.83 billion, exceeding market expectations of $111.31 billion, reflecting an 18% year-over-year growth driven by robust performance across all business segments.
- Future Investment Plans: The company anticipates capital expenditures ranging from $175 billion to $185 billion by 2026, primarily aimed at expanding AI computing capacity and strengthening technical infrastructure to support cloud growth.
See More
Big Tech's Capital Expenditure Outlook Amid Market Concerns
- Capital Expenditure Trends: Gary Black, managing partner at Future Fund, noted that capital expenditure budgets typically start high at the beginning of the year and shrink as companies reassess their needs, indicating that short-term financial impacts will be minimal.
- Return on Investment Expectations: Black emphasized that despite big tech companies planning to invest over $630 billion in AI buildouts for 2026, tech CEOs will eventually realize that declining ROI necessitates scaling back future capex plans.
- Company Financial Performance: Alphabet, Google's parent company, is guiding its 2026 capex between $175 billion and $185 billion, significantly above the street's $120 billion expectation, while Meta's capex has also risen sharply to between $115 billion and $135 billion, reflecting strong confidence in future growth.
- Market Reaction Analysis: Despite market concerns over massive expenditures, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that these investments are “appropriate and sustainable,” noting that companies will see positive cash flow impacts during this critical infrastructure buildout phase.
See More
Bond Market Skepticism Grows Over AI Sustainability
- Bond Market Pressure: Oracle's credit default swap (CDS) pricing surged in November, currently at nearly four times the levels seen in September, indicating bond market concerns over its debt, particularly regarding its $300 billion deal with OpenAI.
- Capital Expenditure Risks: Oracle faces challenges related to the ballooning costs of building data center infrastructure to support AI growth, with market skepticism surrounding OpenAI's internal projections of burning through over $100 billion in cash before 2030.
- Divergent Stock Market Performance: While the bond market remains cautious about Oracle and Microsoft, the equity market continues to invest in AI companies, with Alphabet showing stronger performance due to minimal exposure to OpenAI and a better financial position.
- Bubble Risk Assessment: History suggests that companies often overreach during technological revolutions, leading to capital flowing to unproductive sources; although predicting when a bubble will occur is difficult, discerning investment in AI-exposed companies may promote sustainable growth.
See More
Snap Shares Rebound Slightly as Analysts Upgrade Ratings
- Stock Rebound: Snap's stock closed at $5.22 on Friday, up 1.95%, despite a 24.68% decline this week, indicating a reassessment of the company's outlook by investors.
- Surge in Trading Volume: Trading volume reached 89 million shares, approximately 96% above the three-month average, reflecting increased market interest in Snap's stock.
- Analyst Rating Upgrades: B. Riley upgraded Snap from Neutral to Buy, maintaining a $10 price target, citing the company's success in developing new revenue opportunities.
- Future Prospects: Snap plans to launch augmented reality Spectacles this year, which could provide an early-mover advantage, but may backfire if product quality does not meet expectations.
See More
Meta Increases AI Investment, Profitability Under Pressure
- AI Budget Surge: Meta plans to increase its capital expenditures to $135 billion in 2026, an 87% rise from last year, aimed at supporting its AI Superintelligence team, which is expected to drive future technological innovation and market competitiveness.
- Profitability Pressure: As capital expenditures rise, Meta's depreciation expenses increased by 20% in 2025 and are expected to rise further in 2026, leading to a decline in operating margin from 48% in Q4 2024 to 41%, although management still anticipates overall operating income growth.
- AI-Driven Revenue Growth: Meta achieved a 24% revenue growth in Q4, driven by increased user engagement and stable ad price hikes, demonstrating its effectiveness in AI applications and market potential.
- Generative AI Potential: Meta is planning to leverage generative AI to attract more advertisers, combining personalized content and shopping agent features, which is expected to generate substantial ad revenue and further solidify its market position.
See More
Meta Tests Standalone Platform 'Vibes'
- Standalone App Testing: Meta is testing the standalone 'Vibes' platform, which allows users to create and share only AI-generated videos, aiming to enhance user experience and attract more content creators.
- User Growth Trend: Since its launch within the Meta AI app in September last year, 'Vibes' has gained strong early user engagement, with Meta noting that users are increasingly leaning into this format for creation and sharing.
- Immersive Experience: The new app provides a focused and immersive environment designed to enhance the experience of creating and discovering AI-generated videos, thereby driving user engagement and community interaction.
- Future Expansion Plans: Meta indicated plans to further expand the app based on community feedback, demonstrating the company's commitment to user needs and strategic positioning for future growth.
See More
Google CEO Highlights AI Demand Outpacing Capacity Constraints
- Surging AI Demand: Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted during the earnings call that the rapid rise in AI demand has become the company's biggest near-term challenge, particularly as its 'AI-first' strategy collides with real-world constraints.
- Infrastructure Bottlenecks: Pichai emphasized that factors such as power availability, land, and supply chain issues have emerged as critical bottlenecks for Google's data center expansion, impacting the company's growth potential in the AI sector.
- Strong Financial Performance: Alphabet reported fourth-quarter revenue of $113.83 billion, exceeding market expectations of $111.31 billion, reflecting an 18% year-over-year growth driven by robust performance across all business segments.
- Future Investment Plans: The company anticipates capital expenditures ranging from $175 billion to $185 billion by 2026, primarily aimed at expanding AI computing capacity and strengthening technical infrastructure to support cloud growth.
See More
Big Tech's Capital Expenditure Outlook Amid Market Concerns
- Capital Expenditure Trends: Gary Black, managing partner at Future Fund, noted that capital expenditure budgets typically start high at the beginning of the year and shrink as companies reassess their needs, indicating that short-term financial impacts will be minimal.
- Return on Investment Expectations: Black emphasized that despite big tech companies planning to invest over $630 billion in AI buildouts for 2026, tech CEOs will eventually realize that declining ROI necessitates scaling back future capex plans.
- Company Financial Performance: Alphabet, Google's parent company, is guiding its 2026 capex between $175 billion and $185 billion, significantly above the street's $120 billion expectation, while Meta's capex has also risen sharply to between $115 billion and $135 billion, reflecting strong confidence in future growth.
- Market Reaction Analysis: Despite market concerns over massive expenditures, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that these investments are “appropriate and sustainable,” noting that companies will see positive cash flow impacts during this critical infrastructure buildout phase.
See More
Bond Market Skepticism Grows Over AI Sustainability
- Bond Market Pressure: Oracle's credit default swap (CDS) pricing surged in November, currently at nearly four times the levels seen in September, indicating bond market concerns over its debt, particularly regarding its $300 billion deal with OpenAI.
- Capital Expenditure Risks: Oracle faces challenges related to the ballooning costs of building data center infrastructure to support AI growth, with market skepticism surrounding OpenAI's internal projections of burning through over $100 billion in cash before 2030.
- Divergent Stock Market Performance: While the bond market remains cautious about Oracle and Microsoft, the equity market continues to invest in AI companies, with Alphabet showing stronger performance due to minimal exposure to OpenAI and a better financial position.
- Bubble Risk Assessment: History suggests that companies often overreach during technological revolutions, leading to capital flowing to unproductive sources; although predicting when a bubble will occur is difficult, discerning investment in AI-exposed companies may promote sustainable growth.
See More
Snap Shares Rebound Slightly as Analysts Upgrade Ratings
- Stock Rebound: Snap's stock closed at $5.22 on Friday, up 1.95%, despite a 24.68% decline this week, indicating a reassessment of the company's outlook by investors.
- Surge in Trading Volume: Trading volume reached 89 million shares, approximately 96% above the three-month average, reflecting increased market interest in Snap's stock.
- Analyst Rating Upgrades: B. Riley upgraded Snap from Neutral to Buy, maintaining a $10 price target, citing the company's success in developing new revenue opportunities.
- Future Prospects: Snap plans to launch augmented reality Spectacles this year, which could provide an early-mover advantage, but may backfire if product quality does not meet expectations.
See More
