Canaccord Genuity has increased its price target on Meta Platforms Inc. to $930 from $900 and retained a Buy recommendation, reflecting investor enthusiasm around the company's recent results and AI-driven product gains. Meta, valued at about $1.69 trillion, is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a level that has been characterized as relatively high versus near-term earnings growth metrics.
The price target revision follows fourth-quarter results in which the company reported revenue and operating income roughly 3% above consensus estimates. Meta's advertising business showed resilience, posting a 23% year-over-year increase on a foreign-exchange neutral basis despite tougher political-year comparisons. Over the last twelve months the company recorded 21.27% revenue growth and an 82% gross profit margin, indicators that underpinned analyst optimism.
Management highlighted measurable improvements in user engagement tied to artificial intelligence. Reels engagement in the United States rose by more than 30% year-over-year. Meta cited new sequence learning models and an expansion of GEM capacity as contributors to higher ad performance, with Facebook ad clicks up about 3.5% and Instagram conversions increasing by over 1%.
Those AI and product developments were reflected in headline financial metrics. Meta delivered fourth-quarter earnings per share of $8.88, exceeding analysts' expectations of $8.19, while revenue came in at $59.9 billion versus the $58.35 billion consensus. The company also reported a strong 33% return on equity and was assigned a "GREAT" overall financial health score in independent analysis.
Meta described internal productivity gains tied to tooling as another factor supporting its outlook. The company reported a projected 30% increase in engineer output for 2025, attributing the improvement to new coding tools. Its public roadmap for 2026 centers on scaling training data, deepening content understanding through large language models, and leveraging efforts at Meta Superintelligence Labs. Executive commentary signaled an ambition to develop new categories of personalized, interactive content, with leadership indicating that video is not necessarily the end format and that new AI models are expected to roll out in the coming months.
Other brokerages adjusted their views after the results. DA Davidson raised its price target on Meta to $850 while maintaining a Buy stance. Truist Securities lifted its price target to $900, citing the company’s strong fourth-quarter performance and first-quarter guidance that implies approximately 30% growth at the midpoint. Oppenheimer reiterated a Perform rating, noting that Meta’s fundamentals are at peak levels due to AI-enhanced engagement and new products, and highlighted that fiscal year 2026 revenue guidance sits meaningfully above Street expectations.
The combination of higher analyst price targets, better-than-expected quarterly results and an explicit AI-product roadmap has driven market attention to Meta's growth trajectory and monetization levers. Key operational takeaways include measurable ad engagement gains from AI models, an uplift in engineering productivity attributed to new development tools, and forward-looking guidance that has led several firms to reassess valuation assumptions.
Data and metrics cited in this report:
- Canaccord Genuity price target: raised to $930 from $900, Buy rating maintained
- Market capitalization: $1.69 trillion
- Price-to-earnings ratio: 29.65
- Fourth-quarter EPS: $8.88 vs. $8.19 expected
- Fourth-quarter revenue: $59.9 billion vs. $58.35 billion expected
- Advertising revenue growth: 23% year-over-year on an FX-neutral basis
- Revenue growth over last twelve months: 21.27%
- Gross profit margin: 82%
- Return on equity: 33%
- Reels engagement in the U.S.: +30% year-over-year
- Facebook ad clicks: +3.5%
- Instagram conversions: +1%+
- Engineer output improvement for 2025: +30%
Investors and market participants will be watching how Meta translates AI-driven engagement into sustained revenue gains and whether the company's 2026 product initiatives and model launches will continue to expand monetization opportunities across its platforms.