Meta Platforms reported a blockbuster Q3 with revenue of $64.6 billion, beating expectations and driven by its significant push into artificial intelligence. The company’s AI personal assistant, Muse, is showing strong adoption and has analysts bullish on future monetization opportunities.
Multiple analysts have raised their price targets, citing Meta’s strong core advertising business, AI-driven improvements, and its potential to scale new AI products profitably.
Meta's AI Momentum Drives Record Q3 Earnings, Analysts See Strong Upside
By Michael Bloom
October 22, 2026
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram and WhatsApp, has delivered a knockout third quarter, significantly surpassing Wall Street expectations and setting the stage for continued growth, fueled by its strategic investments in artificial intelligence. The tech giant reported a staggering revenue of $64.6 billion, exceeding the $63.37 billion predicted by LSEG polled analysts, marking a robust 26% increase year-over-year. Earnings per share soared to $3.83, a dramatic leap from $1.05 in the same period last year.
AI as the Engine of Growth
Meta's aggressive pivot towards artificial intelligence has been a primary catalyst for its recent stock surge. The company's unveiling of its AI personal assistant, Muse, in September, sent shares climbing by nearly 27% in a single month, marking its best monthly performance in approximately four years. This AI-driven momentum has seen Meta's stock climb over 11% in the past three months, with analysts expressing strong confidence in its future trajectory.
Analyst Reactions: A Chorus of Optimism
Following the strong earnings report, a wave of positive analyst commentary has bolstered the outlook for Meta's stock. Many see Muse as a potential game-changer, with the platform already showing promising user adoption and monetization potential.
Barclays: Overweight, Price Target Raised to $880
Barclays analyst Ross Sandler highlighted Muse's strong start, calling it a "game changer for the META narrative." He anticipates continued revenue growth in 2027, driven by AI's enhancement of core ad recommendations, and the emergence of new AI revenue streams from subscriptions, APIs, and enterprise offerings. Sandler raised his price target to $880, representing a 26% upside from the previous day's close.
Goldman Sachs: Buy, Price Target Raised to $860
Eric Sheridan of Goldman Sachs maintains a positive long-term view, seeing significant upside potential even after a recent stock re-rating. He believes Meta is well-positioned to capitalize on long-term secular growth themes at the intersection of AI and spatial computing across its existing platforms and future ventures like Reality Labs.
JPMorgan: Overweight, Price Target Raised to $940
Doug Anmuth from JPMorgan noted the strong growth in Meta's core advertising business, supported by AI improvements and video content. He emphasized the early product momentum seen with Muse Wonder, the Muse AI agent, and enterprise opportunities, signaling a positive response to Meta's investments in personal superintelligence.
Morgan Stanley: Overweight
Morgan Stanley views Meta as the "cleanest consumer GenAI winner," citing a long runway for its core business, the burgeoning potential of Muse, and a clear strategy for profitable scaling with improved compute efficiency.
Citigroup: Buy, Price Target Raised to $905
Ronald Josey at Citigroup is "incrementally positive," believing Meta is entering an "AI product super-cycle." He pointed to Muse's impressive adoption rates (10 million users, 25% daily return users) and its potential for monetization through subscriptions and transaction fees, especially given shopping's popularity as a use case. Josey also noted that improved content relevance driven by Meta's LLMs is likely boosting engagement and revenue guidance.
Deutsche Bank: Buy
Deutsche Bank emphasizes that Meta's AI investments are yielding increasing returns for advertisers, driving both top-line durability and revenue growth acceleration. They highlight that AI infrastructure has led to all-time highs in engagement for Instagram and Facebook, with ad systems further enhancing monetization efficiency.
Wells Fargo: Overweight
Wells Fargo sees Meta as an "accelerating growth story" with emerging AI upside in messaging, ad tools, and new consumer applications. Coupled with a focus on efficiency, they believe Meta is poised to be a steady earnings compounder.
The Road Ahead
Despite 2027 being characterized as an investment year, particularly for the ramp-up of Muse, Meta's strategic positioning in AI and its first-mover advantage in personal agents have analysts convinced of its sustained growth and market leadership.
