Meta's Revenue Soars 75% in Q4, Analysts Predict 32% Upside for Stock

By the end of 2024, Meta Platforms (META) was enjoying a remarkable renaissance outside its traditional markets.

Revenue from the rest of the world soared from $5.27 billion in Q3 to $9.24 billion in Q4, a 75.33% increase that pushed this region ahead of Asia-Pacific into third place overall.

The reason? Meta’s tailored advertising products that cater to the local businesses in these regions.

As a result, Meta is seeing a 27% rise in ad revenue from these areas compared to a year ago. That’s ahead of 23% in Asia-Pacific and 22% in Europe.

Elsewhere, Meta has achieved remarkable operational efficiency, slashing its selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses from $3.66 billion in Q2 to $761 million in Q4. That’s a decrease of 79.21% and includes a $1.55 billion cut in anticipated legal costs.

The company has streamlined operations, trimmed the workforce and invested heavily in research and development. That accounted for $12.2 billion of its total $16.2 billion operating expenses in Q4.

As a result of all these strategic moves, META stock is up more than 17% over the past year. Analysts are very much on board with the turnaround, giving the stock a consensus Strong Buy rating from 48 analysts. The average price target is $761.41, which suggests there’s another 32.1% upside to come.

Ahead of its first-quarter earnings report on April 24, analysts are expecting revenue of $36.16 billion, up from $28.65 billion a year prior. Earnings per share are projected at $4.32, compared to just $2.20 last year.

There’s cautious optimism among analysts, who note the year-over-year comparisons are getting tougher and European regulations are still having an impact.

However, they also see promise in the advances Meta is making in artificial intelligence and the rollout of Meta AI, which could enhance engagement and monetisation opportunities.

Meta shares are currently trading at $495.02, which is an increase of 130% over the past year.