META
Another green light from Wall Street
TD Cowen isn’t changing the script on Meta: still a Buy, still an $820 price target, still betting the company can keep turning ads into money like it’s found the cheat code.
The AI trade-off
The catch? AI isn’t free. TD Cowen expects Meta’s ad growth to keep accelerating, but it also sees margin compression as the company pours cash into AI infrastructure and tools. In other words: the engine is revving harder, but the gas bill is getting uglier.
The firm’s take also comes with a little bit of flex math:
- Its estimates for Meta’s first-quarter 2026 revenue are 1% above consensus
- Its operating income estimate is 6% above consensus
- Meta’s gross margin sat at 82% over the last twelve months, which is basically the corporate version of saying, “yes, we print a lot of money”
Why you should care
For investors, this is another reminder that the market still wants to pay up for Meta’s AI story as long as ad growth stays healthy. The stock can handle some margin wobble — but if AI spending starts looking less like a strategic investment and more like a bottomless pit, the mood can change fast.
Big picture: Meta keeps getting the Wall Street seal of approval, but now it has to prove AI can be both powerful and profitable, which is easier said than done.