
Meta Platforms (Meta Platforms Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts, Financials NASDAQ:META) got a fresh vote of confidence from Roth Capital Partners after reporting better-than-expected first-quarter results and offering upbeat guidance for the current quarter, signalling continued business momentum despite persistent global macroeconomic uncertainty.
In an April 30 company update, Roth analyst Rohit Kulkarni reiterated his “Buy” rating and $620.00 12-month price target, citing Meta’s leadership in AI-driven advertising and product innovation. The company’s shares rose 5% in after-hours trading following the announcement, buoyed by strong revenue performance and second-quarter guidance that suggests a return to typical seasonal trends—something Kulkarni says reflects resilience in the platform despite a complex operating environment.
Kulkarni said Meta’s strong results and robust AI ambitions in advertising tools, content optimization, messaging, enterprise applications, and AR/VR underscore why he continues to favour the stock.
“While ‘de minimis’ were apparent in April, platform robustness and growing diversity likely mitigate downside. We believe META’s 2Q guidance would imply clear market share gains amidst macro headwinds when we have processed peer earnings over the next couple of weeks,” he said.
He estimates Meta will post $94.4-billion in adjusted EBITDA on $ 185.1 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025. Those numbers are expected to improve to $ 107.7 billion in EBITDA on $211.1-billion in revenue in 2026, with both forecasts up 1% from prior estimates.
Addressing Meta’s decision to raise its 2025 capital expenditure forecast from $60–65-billion to $64–72-billion, Kulkarni said the change reflects elevated internal demand for compute resources as Meta continues to invest in infrastructure to support its long-term AI goals.
“In 1Q, META spent $13.7bn in CapEx, following $14.8bn, $9.2bn, and $8.5bn in 4Q, 3Q, and 2Q, respectively. The majority of 2025 will continue to be directed to the core business as META maintains its positioning to ‘control its own destiny’ and align with long-term training and inference demand,” he said.
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