Meta Platforms Falls 9% on Soft Guidance as Wall Street Slashes Price Targets

David Moadel Thu, July 30, 2026 at 6:52 AM PDT 4 min read

• META +3.28%
• MSFT +3.02%
• NVDA +2.93%
• GOOG +6.88%
• XLC +1.56%

Quick Read

• Meta Platforms' EPS missed by 13% as total costs surged 55%, sending shares down 9% and free cash flow to near zero.
• META fell 9% while MSFT jumped 15% as investors rewarded clear AI monetization and punished Meta's $145 billion capex commitment.
• Ten firms slashed META stock's price target overnight, with Wells Fargo cutting from $835 to $640 on limited visibility into AI monetization beyond advertising.
• Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Meta didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.

Shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) are down 9% in early Thursday trading to $530 and change, after Meta's Q2 2026 results released Wednesday after the close failed to calm concerns about the company's ballooning AI investment bill.

The move follows a Wednesday close of $585.61 and extends what was already a rough year for Meta Platforms stock, which was down 11% year to date heading into the report. On a one-year basis, Meta Platforms shares are now off 16%.

Bottom-Line Miss and Soft Guide Trigger the Selloff

Meta Platforms delivered Q2 revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and ahead of the $60.2 billion consensus. The company's advertising revenue also came in ahead at $59.3 billion.

However, Meta Platforms' diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.18 missed the $7.14 to $7.22 range, down 13% year over year. The company's total costs and expenses jumped 55% to roughly $42 billion, including $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.18 billion of severance tied to May's headcount reduction.

Furthermore, Meta Platforms raised the low end of its 2026 capex range to $135 billion to $145 billion, and offered Q3 2026 revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion, a midpoint below Wall Street's expectations. Q2 capex of $31.08 billion shrank free cash flow to $784 million from roughly $8.6 billion a year earlier. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors there's "nowhere near enough compute for all the demand."

Wall Street Slashes Meta Platforms Price Targets

Ten major firms cut their Meta Platforms price target overnight, though most kept bullish ratings:

• Barclays: $780 (from $830) — Overweight
• Bank of America: $810 (from $835) — Buy
• Citi: $800 (from $850) — Buy
• Goldman Sachs: $725 (from $815)
• Guggenheim: $700 (from $800)
• KeyBanc: $780 (from $790)
• Piper Sandler: $785 (from $800)
• UBS: $715 (from $766)
• Wells Fargo: $640 (from $835)
• JPMorgan: $640 (from $725) — Lone Neutral

The shared concern: limited visibility into monetizing AI compute spend beyond advertising, plus a growing capex, free-cash-flow, and return on invested capital (ROIC) overhang.

Hyperscaler Split: Microsoft Rewarded, Meta Platforms Punished

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported the same evening and MSFT stock is up 15% Thursday morning as investors reward tighter capex framing and clearer AI monetization. Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google has faced similar capex pressure recently, with Alphabet stock down 5% over the past month even after a strong report last week.

On the picks-and-shovels side, NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) remains a direct beneficiary of the same hyperscaler capex the market is now scrutinizing.