Meta Platforms Sees Analyst Upgrades Amid AI Business Messaging Push

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) has recently attracted attention on Wall Street due to a series of analyst upgrades. Following its latest earnings report, about 20 analysts tracked by MarketBeat raised their price targets for the stock.

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In a significant price target update, analysts at Wolfe Research set a target of $750 for Meta shares. This price indicates a potential upside of nearly 18% from the closing price on May 20.

Mark Zuckerberg recently outlined five key AI growth opportunities for Meta, highlighting the substantial potential of business messaging. Wolfe Research emphasizes that business messaging could represent a $30–$40 billion opportunity for the company.

Zuckerberg’s insights suggest that successful execution in business messaging may help Meta reach Wolfe’s $750 price target within 12 months. The following analysis will dive into Meta’s strategies in this area and the implications for the tech giant.

WhatsApp: A Global Messaging Powerhouse

In addition to Facebook and Instagram, Meta owns WhatsApp, potentially the world’s most popular direct messaging platform. During Meta’s Q1 2025 earnings call, Zuckerberg reported over 3 billion monthly active users on WhatsApp, representing roughly 38% of the global population of 8 billion. Furthermore, more than one billion users engage with Facebook Messenger each month.

Zuckerberg noted that Instagram users send as many daily messages as those on Messenger. He stated, “So, business messaging should be the next pillar of our business.”

Meta appears poised to monetize its extensive user base in messaging. This strategy aligns with Wolfe’s revenue estimates for Meta’s addressable market in this space. Current estimates suggest Meta generates about $1.5 billion to $2 billion annually from WhatsApp. According to Meta’s latest reports, its Other Family of Apps generated approximately $1.8 billion in revenue over the past year and $510 million last quarter, equating to a 34% increase year-over-year.

Wolfe’s Insights Highlight Growth Potential

Wolfe’s projections indicate a significant opportunity for Meta in business messaging, although the timeline for achieving $30–$40 billion in revenue remains unclear. If Meta meets the midpoint of Wolfe’s estimates, this would represent a 20-fold increase in its current business messaging revenue. Furthermore, $35 billion would make up more than 20% of the $170 billion in revenue generated by Meta over the past year.

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Meta plans to enhance the monetization of business messaging through AI technologies. Zuckerberg envisions that every business could employ an “AI business agent” to manage customer service and sales directly via messaging apps. Companies would likely pay Meta to utilize this service.

Some businesses in Thailand and Vietnam are already leveraging Meta’s messaging platforms, utilizing human support due to lower labor costs. However, Meta believes that AI could enable profitable operations in more developed markets.

Interestingly, while Meta focuses on monetizing AI in developed countries, only around 100 million of WhatsApp’s 3 billion users reside in the United States. Most users are found in emerging markets. This raises the question: will AI agents significantly impact the adoption of business messaging in regions where labor is already inexpensive? While profitability may improve, the broader impact remains to be assessed as Meta experiments with these AI functionalities. Notably, even with 100 million users, there remains substantial opportunity domestically, as this figure represents about 30% of the U.S. population.

Strategic Execution Could Drive Meta’s Growth in Business Messaging

In conclusion, Meta’s business messaging ambitions should attract investor interest in the future. However, it may be prudent to approach Wolfe’s optimistic forecasts with caution until more concrete results regarding Meta’s AI integration emerge. If executed effectively, business messaging could provide a significant growth avenue for one of the leading technology firms globally.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.