Asia tech stocks slide tracking Wall St losses amid AI doubts, govt. uncertainty
Investing.com -- TD Cowen hiked its price target on Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) to $800 from $700 and reiterated a Buy rating ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings.
The broker expects the tech giant to beat consensus estimates, driven by solid advertising momentum and progress on AI initiatives.
For the second quarter, TD Cowen forecasts total revenue of $45.4 billion, up 16.1% year-over-year and about 2% above the consensus estimate.
Operating income is projected at $17.9 billion, implying a 39.5% margin, while GAAP earnings per share (EPS) are expected to reach $6.08, ahead of the $5.82 consensus.
The outlook is supported by a “solid 2Q25 Digital ad expert check,” which, TD Cowen analysts note, “showed accelerating spend growth across Meta properties.” Facebook drove growth through higher impressions, while Instagram benefited from improved pricing.
TD Cowen also highlighted Meta’s ongoing investment in artificial intelligence as a long-term growth catalyst.
“We see META’s recent AI investment and hires as a response to mixed Llama 4 reception, as Meta increases AI capabilities to drive core advertising biz and Business AI tools,” a team led by John Blackledge wrote.
The company has reportedly formed a Superintelligence unit led by Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, following a $14 billion investment in Scale AI for a 49% stake.
“We believe that Meta’s AI investments will support i) Growth of the core advertising business through monetization & engagement optimization; ii) Development of Business AI tools, including interactive ads & biz messaging; and iii) Enterprise adoption of Llama models,” the note states.
WhatsApp monetization was flagged as another growth lever, with the introduction of new ad formats such as Status ads.
The analysts believe that WhatsApp’s large and growing user base, which includes over 100 million users in the U.S. and 3 billion globally, along with its high level of user engagement due to the interactive nature of messaging, positions the platform well to generate meaningful advertising revenues over time.
TD Cowen left its 2025 forecasts unchanged but raised long-term estimates for 2026 through 2030, citing continued engagement gains and improving video monetization.
A lower discount rate was applied to reflect easing tariff concerns.