Buy, Sell or Hold Meta Platforms Stock? Key Tips Ahead of Q1 Earnings

Core Viewpoint - Meta Platforms (META) is expected to report strong first-quarter 2025 results, driven by robust advertising revenue growth and effective use of AI technologies [1][4][21] Revenue Expectations - META anticipates total revenues between $39.5 billion and$41.8 billion for Q1 2025, reflecting an 8-15% year-over-year growth or 11-18% growth at constant currency [1] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter revenues is $41.22 billion, indicating a 13.08$5.21, down 2.3% over the past month, suggesting a 10.62% growth from the year-ago quarter [2] Advertising Revenue Growth - Strong advertising revenue growth is anticipated, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Q1 2025 advertising revenues at $40.44 billion, indicating a 13.5$19.97 billion, reflecting a 13% year-over-year growth, while Reality Labs is expected to incur a loss of $4.70 billion, wider than the previous year's loss [7] - META shares have declined 6.6% year-to-date, outperforming the Zacks Computer & Technology sector's 11% decline but lagging behind the Internet Software Industry's 5.9% drop [8] Competitive Position - META is expected to capture a significant share of global ad spending, alongside Alphabet and Amazon, projected to absorb roughly 50% of the market by 2028 [5] - The company's focus on improving advertisers' return on ad spending through proprietary machine learning systems enhances its competitive edge [16]