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Meta Platforms (META), the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, Threads and other brands, is scheduled to report third quarter 2025 results after market close on Wednesday, October 29 with a conference call scheduled for 4.30 pm ET. Here's what to watch for:

EXPECTATIONS: Last quarter, Meta Platforms reported earnings of $7.14 per share on revenue of $47.52B, topping analyst estimates, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the quarter "strong both in terms of our business and community." In terms of guidance, the company said it expected third quarter total revenue to be in the range of $47.5B-$50.5B, compared to analysts' consensus forecast at that time of $46.29B.

Current consensus EPS and revenue forecasts for Meta's September-end quarter stand at $6.70 and $49.39B, respectively, according to Yahoo Finance.

During the company's last earnings call, Meta also said, "We expect full year 2025 total expenses to be in the range of $114-118B, narrowed from our prior outlook of $113-118B and reflecting a growth rate of 20-24% year-over-year. While we are still very early in planning for next year, there are a few factors we expect will provide meaningful upward pressure on our 2026 total expense growth rate. The largest single driver of growth will be infrastructure costs, driven by a sharp acceleration in depreciation expense growth and higher operating costs as we continue to scale up our infrastructure fleet. Aside from infrastructure, we expect the second largest driver of growth to be employee compensation as we add technical talent in priority areas and recognize a full year of compensation expenses for employees hired throughout 2025. We expect these factors will result in a 2026 year-over-year expense growth rate that is above the 2025 expense growth rate. We currently expect 2025 capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, to be in the range of $66-72B, narrowed from our prior outlook of $64-72B and up approximately $30B year-over-year at the mid-point. While the infrastructure planning process remains highly dynamic, we currently expect another year of similarly significant capital expenditures dollar growth in 2026 as we continue aggressively pursuing opportunities to bring additional capacity online to meet the needs of our artificial intelligence efforts and business operations."

CONSTRUCTIVE INTO EARNINGS: Truist analyst Youssef Squali raised the firm's price target on Meta Platforms to $900 from $880 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm remains constructive on the company heading into earnings and expects results to be in line to slightly ahead of the 22% year-over-year revenue growth estimated, reflecting strong user engagement and improving monetization from better ranking and recommendations, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

Goldman Sachs also raised the firm's price target on Buy-rated Meta Platforms to $870 from $830 as part of a broader research note previewing Q3 results in Digital Advertising names. The firm is boosting its topline growth estimates in 2026 and beyond to reflect a better than feared operating environment while also expecting Meta to moderate non-D&A total expense growth over the next few years, Goldman tells investors in a research note.

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