The features could garner 360 million paid subscribers, generating revenue equivalent to roughly 5% of Meta’s total sales.
- Meta launched paid subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Meta AI last month.
- Truist believes Meta could launch additional subscriptions in the future, including those supporting its hardware offerings, particularly Meta glasses.
- Stocktwits sentiment for META shifted to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral.’
Meta Platforms Inc.’s new subscription offering for its social media and AI apps could generate $20 billion in revenue by 2030, analysts at Truist said on Tuesday. Meta shares gained 0.2% in overnight trading after closing 0.1% lower in the regular session, with Tuesday marking the third straight day of losses for the stock.
“We remain constructive on Meta as the company continues to outgrow the digital ad while also diversifying into new revenue streams, including subscriptions,” they said in their investor note, reported by CNBC.
Last month, Meta announced the rollout of subscription plans for its apps, with Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus priced at $3.99 per month and WhatsApp Plus at $2.99 per month, according to details shared with multiple media outlets. The company also said subscriptions for its AI chatbot, Meta AI, would cost $7.99 per month for the basic tier and $19.99 per month for the premium tier.
Meta’s Paid Subscription, Revenue Tailwind
Truist estimates these features could attract more than 360 million paid subscribers, generating revenue equivalent to roughly 5% of Meta’s total sales. Meta continues to derive the vast majority of its revenue from digital advertising, and total revenue surged 33% to $56.3 billion last quarter – the fastest growth rate since the December 2021 quarter.
“Over time, we see Meta offering other subscription types beyond the ones we discussed above including subscriptions supporting its hardware offerings particularly around Meta glasses with added functionality like storage and longer recording,” according to the research firm.
Truist reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating on Meta, maintaining its price target of $840. That implies nearly 44% upside from Tuesday’s close. META stock is down 11% year to date, compared to the 14.2% rise in Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ).
Currently, 58 of 64 analysts recommend ‘Buy’ or higher on META stock, and six rate it ‘Hold,’ according to Koyfin. Their average price target of $828.80 implies 42% upside from the stock’s last close.
Recent Catalysts, Retail View
Crucially, the development comes close on the heels of the social media giant laying off 10% of its 78,000-person workforce, in part to fund its AI spending. In April, Meta raised its 2026 guidance for AI-related capital expenditures to between $125 billion and $145 billion, up from a prior range of $115 billion to $135 billion.
On Stocktwits, the debate has lately centered on Meta's stock underperformance relative to tech peers. The retail sentiment for META shifted to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral.’
“$META Another day another disaster in Zuck world. Meta stock going nowhere. These morons overcommitted over risked. Paid billions to Superintelligence team who has not produced await do far. Can’t even release an API,” a trader said.
“Any other company Zuck would have been kicked out as CEO. Worst CEO of a mag 7. Here what saved him is that he is the founder with super majority voting shares.”
Still others were upbeat about its AI investments yielding results. One of the traders referenced Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s recent remark where he said “nobody uses AI better than Meta” as an argument in favour of the company.
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