Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Stock Price Down 8% Following Weak Earnings

Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)’s share price dropped 8% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $524.49 and last traded at $539.03. 41,945,602 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 148% from the average daily volume of 16,888,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $585.61.

The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

More Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding expectations, while strong advertising demand, higher ad prices and AI-powered recommendations supported engagement. META’s Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Year over Year on Ad Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintained bullish ratings despite reducing price targets. UBS, Citigroup, Truist, TD Cowen, Bank of America and others continue to rate META Buy, Outperform or Overweight, implying substantial potential upside from current levels. Analyst price-target updates
• Positive Sentiment: Meta highlighted AI-related gains in advertising and personalization, as well as plans for additional AI-enabled applications and enterprise products. WhatsApp also reported record messaging activity, supporting the company’s long-term platform reach. Meta says AI is making it easier to build new apps
• Neutral Sentiment: Reality Labs lost more than $4.6 billion, although the loss was narrower than analysts expected. Meta is also exploring ways to lease excess computing capacity, which could eventually create an additional revenue stream but remains unproven. Meta’s Reality Labs lost over $4.6 billion in second quarter
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter EPS was $6.18, below estimates near $7.20 and down from $7.14 a year earlier. Legal expenses, severance costs and higher operating expenses pressured profits despite the revenue beat. Meta profit misses estimates on higher costs
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were particularly concerned that capital expenditures are consuming nearly all operating cash flow. Meta generated $31.9 billion in operating cash flow but retained only $784 million after investment, while 2026 AI and infrastructure spending is expected to reach $130 billion-$145 billion. Meta generated $31.9 billion in operating cash flow last quarter
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $61 billion-$64 billion was below the roughly $63.2 billion consensus midpoint, reinforcing worries about slowing growth and limited visibility into AI monetization. Future AI data-center lease obligations also climbed to $279 billion, intensifying balance-sheet and execution concerns. Meta’s future AI data center lease obligations swell

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $794.73.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,376.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,325 shares of company stock worth $23,979,087. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meta Platforms

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 981,816 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $553,047,000 after purchasing an additional 33,694 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,669 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,769,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bulltick Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the second quarter. Bulltick Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,095 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,446,000 after buying an additional 5,627 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $603.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $624.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.