Wall Street is taking notice of a leaner Meta Platforms Inc., and analysts are becoming more bullish as a result. Cost reductions and steady advertising trends make the stock of the Facebook owner look more resilient in the face of an impending economic slump.

The company’s shares are up 140% since November.

The shares have increased 140 percent after hitting a seven-year low in November when Meta began laying off thousands of employees due to dwindling revenues. This month, the company made additional layoff announcements and committed to increasing efficiency, which gave the rally more fuel.

Given that Meta has made bolder cost cuts than competitors like Alphabet Inc., Morgan Stanley’s Nowak dubbed the company the most resilient mega-cap if consumer spending declines.

Analysts raise Meta’s earnings estimate by 15% per share.

Since the announcement of the second round of layoffs, more than a dozen brokerages have raised their price estimates on the stock. Also, during the last three months, analysts have increased their estimate for Meta’s 2023 earnings per share by 15%, per data gathered by Bloomberg. After waiting less than five months, Brian Nowak of Morgan Stanley reinstated his buy-equivalent rating in March.

While the advertising industry has slowed, bulls claim that it has at least steadied. Another encouraging sign for revenue is that Apple Inc.’s privacy policy changes, which make it more difficult to target iPhone users with advertisements, have been in effect long enough to no longer have an impact on Meta’s rate of year-over-year growth.

According to data from Bloomberg, Meta experienced an average revenue growth rate of 42% over the ten years starting in 2012. When the company revealed its first-ever revenue decrease last year, it astounded investors. Sales are expected to increase by 4.7% this year as trends have stabilized, with growth more than doubling to nearly 11% in 2024.

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