Meta Platforms Poised to Surpass Alphabet in Ad Revenue
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 3h ago
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Source: Yahoo Finance
- Significant Revenue Growth: Meta reported a revenue of $59.9 billion in Q4 2023, marking a 24% year-over-year increase, and despite increased spending impacting margins, net income rose 9% to $22.8 billion, reflecting strong market demand and profitability.
- Optimistic Ad Revenue Outlook: Meta anticipates Q1 2024 revenue between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion, representing a 30% year-over-year growth, which would be its fastest quarterly growth in five years, indicating a robust recovery in its advertising business and heightened market confidence.
- Competitive Advertising Advantage: Meta's advertising revenue reached $201 billion in 2025, with $196.2 billion derived from ads, and is projected to grow to $251.1 billion in 2026, potentially surpassing Alphabet's ad revenue soon, showcasing its strong competitive position in the advertising market.
- AI-Driven Growth: Meta has enhanced its advertising product conversion rates through AI technology, with CFO Susan Li noting that these improvements are driving strong growth, indicating that in the AI era, Meta's social media advertising model holds a significant advantage, likely positioning it to become the world's largest advertising business in the coming years.
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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: 738.310
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 738.310
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 Platforms Poised to Surpass Alphabet in Ad Revenue
- Significant Revenue Growth: Meta reported a revenue of $59.9 billion in Q4 2023, marking a 24% year-over-year increase, and despite increased spending impacting margins, net income rose 9% to $22.8 billion, reflecting strong market demand and profitability.
- Optimistic Ad Revenue Outlook: Meta anticipates Q1 2024 revenue between $53.5 billion and $56.5 billion, representing a 30% year-over-year growth, which would be its fastest quarterly growth in five years, indicating a robust recovery in its advertising business and heightened market confidence.
- Competitive Advertising Advantage: Meta's advertising revenue reached $201 billion in 2025, with $196.2 billion derived from ads, and is projected to grow to $251.1 billion in 2026, potentially surpassing Alphabet's ad revenue soon, showcasing its strong competitive position in the advertising market.
- AI-Driven Growth: Meta has enhanced its advertising product conversion rates through AI technology, with CFO Susan Li noting that these improvements are driving strong growth, indicating that in the AI era, Meta's social media advertising model holds a significant advantage, likely positioning it to become the world's largest advertising business in the coming years.
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Meta Platforms Forecasts $135 Billion Capex for AI in 2026
- Significant Revenue Growth: Meta Platforms reported a 24% year-over-year revenue increase to $59.9 billion for the quarter, with full-year revenue surpassing $200 billion, reflecting strong performance in its advertising and app businesses, thereby reinforcing its market leadership.
- Capex Forecast: The company anticipates capital expenditures to reach between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026, representing a 73% increase from 2025, primarily driven by investments in Meta Superintelligence Labs and its core business, showcasing its strong commitment to the AI sector.
- Impact on AI Industry: The substantial increase in Meta's capex is likely to positively affect the AI industry, particularly benefiting partners like CoreWeave, which could enhance their market performance and accelerate the application and development of AI technologies.
- Positive Market Reaction: Following the earnings report, Meta's stock rose 8% in after-hours trading, indicating investor optimism regarding the company's growth potential, especially in light of accelerated AI investments, significantly boosting market confidence in its long-term strategy.
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