Time to Buy Microsoft or Meta Stock as Earnings Approach?

Meta Platforms META and Microsoft MSFT will kick off a much-anticipated week of quarterly results from big tech firms with their reports rolling out after-market hours on Wednesday, April 30.Crucial to a potential turnaround among the broader indexes, Meta and Microsoft stock are down over 6% in 2025, respectively. That said, both have outperformed the market’s returns over the last three years, with META soaring +174% and MSFT up a very respectable +41%.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Meta Platforms Q1 ExpectationsAlthough Meta could be affected by higher tariffs on Chinese imports, its Q1 sales are expected to be up 13% to $41.22 billion compared to $36.46 billion a year ago. That said, Wall Street will be looking for insight on how U.S.-China trade tensions are affecting advertising spend from Chinese companies like Temu and Shein, which are among Meta’s biggest advertisers on Facebook and Instagram.Optimistically, Meta’s Q1 EPS is thought to have increased 10% to $5.21 versus $4.71 a share in the prior year quarter. Meta has exceeded the Zacks EPS Consensus for nine consecutive quarters with an average earnings surprise of 13.77% in its last four quarterly reports.  Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchMicrosoft’s Q3 Expectations Reporting results for its fiscal third quarter, Microsoft’s Q3 sales are slated to rise 10% to $68.38 billion versus $61.86 billion in the comparative quarter. However, Microsoft’s outlook will be under a scope as the tech giant has faced challenges related to higher tariffs on technology equipment and components, and recently cancelled a $1 billion data center project in Ohio because of such. Still, Microsoft’s Q3 EPS is expected to be up 9% to $3.20 from $2.94 in the prior period. Microsoft has exceeded earnings expectations for 10 consecutive quarters with an average EPS surprise of 4.34% in its last four quarterly reports.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Tracking Meta & Microsoft’s Outlook Based on Zacks' estimates, Meta’s total sales are currently projected to rise 12% in fiscal 2025 and are forecasted to spike another 13% in FY26 to $208.4 billion. Annual earnings are expected to rise 1% this year and are projected to spike 13% in FY26 to a whopping $27.38 per share.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchPivoting to Microsoft, its top line is expected to expand over 12% in FY25 and FY26, with projections edging north of $300 billion. Microsoft’s annual earnings are projected to rise 10% in FY25 and are forecasted to soar another 13% in FY26 to $14.60 per share.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Bottom Line Meta Platforms and Microsoft stock land a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). To that point, their quarterly results and any guidance they can offer will need to reconfirm the favorable growth trajectories of these tech giants, which hopefully won’t be overly altered by higher tariffs.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks