Analyst Says Ad Spending Uptick ‘Notably Positive’ For Meta, Pinterest Heading Into Q4 Results: Retail Mood Subdued

Analysts at Wedbush expect Meta Platforms Inc. (META) and Pinterest Inc. (PINS) to benefit from strong advertising spending and improved advertiser sentiment in 2025 following the company’s “Digital Advertising Survey” conducted with 200 U.S.-based marketers and agencies. 

Devitt said he came away from the survey incrementally positive on the setup for the fourth-quarter reporting season. 

The analyst acknowledged some headwinds, including a stronger dollar and the harder year-over-year (YoY) comparisons, specifically in the first quarter.

The view was echoed by Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski as he said he sees a weaker exit-rate quarter for Meta’s advertising in the fourth quarter. He reduced the forex-neutral ad growth for the first quarter by one point to 16%.

Wedbush’s Devitt said the feedback for Meta was encouraging, as 54% of Meta advertisers increased their spending by 10% or more year over year (YoY).

He added that expectations are also positive, with 58%  planning to increase their Meta budgets by 10% or more in 2025.

The analyst said this suggests accelerating growth for U.S. advertisers in the fourth quarter, indicating a directional upside versus the consensus. He noted that the consensus expects fourth-quarter advertising growth to decelerate by 110 basis points (bps) from the previous quarter.

Sentiment toward Meta stock stayed ‘neutral’ (52/100), although message volume reached ‘high’ levels.

Separately, a Reuters report said the U.S. Supreme Court turned down Meta’s appeal of a lower court’s decision that allowed advertisers to seek damages over the Mark Zuckerberg-led company’s claims about the potential reach of its ads.

Devitt sees materially strong growth for Pinterest in the fourth quarter, as 65% of its advertisers increased ad spending by 10% or more, up sharply from 45% in the third quarter. The analyst expects the company to beat the fourth-quarter consensus, which calls for a 140-bps deceleration sequentially.

He said the survey showed only slightly slower growth for the first quarter versus the fourth, adding that this is a positive relative to the sequential deceleration implied by the consensus.

Retail sentiment toward Pinterest’s stock improved to ‘neutral’ (46/100) from ‘bearish’ a day ago, with message volume perking up to ‘high.’

In pre-market trading, Meta stock was down 0.55% at $605.01, while Pinterest rose 0.20% to $30.47.

So far in January, Meta and Pinterest have gained 3.90% and 4.86%, respectively. 

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