Oppenheimer Reiterates Perform Rating on Meta

Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein reiterated a Perform rating on Meta (NASDAQ: META).

“We remain cautious on META shares ahead of 1Q results.

Despite a robust revenue outlook, higher compute costs will limit earnings upside, even with headcount reductions.

While FY26 capex guidance could remain constant or be lowered (deferred to FY27), META is leveraging more 3P compute, driving higher opex.

Meanwhile, we believe investors already expecting FY revenue approaching 30% on AI/LLM driven conversion improvements, suggesting any comments about tough 2H comps (2H25 +25% y/y) would be received poorly.

Commentary likely to focus on leveraging AI to improve engagement/conversion, reduce headcount and allow new business opportunities via AI Chat and business messaging.

Bulls highlight PE discount to GOOG (7x) vs. 5-year average of 1x, but throughout 2018-2023, GOOG consistently held a premium similar to current levels.”

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