Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shares are in the spotlight, with earnings on deck, expenses and capital spending in focus, recent analyst activity and a technical setup showing a bullish trend with cooling momentum.

• Meta stock is under selling pressure. What’s pulling META shares down?

Earnings Preview & History

Meta is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on October 21 after the market closes. Analysts estimate earnings per share of $6.28 along with revenue of $63.32 billion. For the prior quarter, Meta reported earnings per share of $6.18, missing the consensus estimate of $7.18. The company also posted revenue of $60.80 billion, beating the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion.

What to Watch: Expenses, AI Investment and Revenue Growth

Investors will be closely tracking expenses and capital spending, since Meta’s second-quarter earnings per share miss came as costs surged. Management has guided to full-year expenses of $165 billion to $169 billion and capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion. Revenue will be measured against third-quarter guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion, which came in modestly below consensus at the midpoint when it was issued. The Muse AI agent will also be in focus, with analysts watching for early signs of how it could generate subscription and commerce revenue.

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions

The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $830.04. Recent analyst moves include:

• Truist Securities: Buy (Raises Target to $1000.00) (Oct. 13)
• Keybanc: Overweight (Maintains Target to $900.00) (Oct. 13)
• Rosenblatt: Buy (Maintains Target to $886.00) (Oct. 13)

Meta Trades Above Every Major Moving Average, With a Cooling MACD

Even with the premarket dip, Meta is still holding a firmly bullish longer-term structure: it’s trading 1.6% above its 20-day SMA ($723.05) and well above the 50-day ($643.46), 100-day ($622.82), and 200-day ($630.52) SMAs. That "price above rising averages" setup typically keeps pullbacks in the "buy-the-dip" conversation until the stock starts losing those trend lines.

Momentum is the main near-term question, and MACD is flashing that risk: MACD is below its signal line and the histogram is negative, which points to upside pressure cooling versus the prior upswing. In plain terms, when MACD sits under its signal line, it often means the trend is still up, but the push higher is losing steam unless buyers step back in.

From a levels standpoint, the chart is pressing into a tight zone near the highs, with Key Resistance at $780.00—right around the 52-week high area ($779.82), where breakouts can fail if momentum doesn’t confirm. On the downside, Key Support at $628.00 lines up closely with the longer-term moving-average area (the 200-day SMA is $630.52), making that region a key "line in the sand" if the pullback deepens.

• Key Resistance: $780.00 — a round-number area sitting right near the 52-week high zone where rallies can stall
• Key Support: $628.00 — a key downside level near the longer-term trend area, close to the 200-day SMA ($630.52)

Meta Shares Edge Lower

META Price Action: At the time of publication, Meta shares are trading 1.09% lower at $734.85, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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