11:31 AM EDT, 10/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Meta Platforms' ( META ) infrastructure expense growth outlook for 2025 is likely to draw Wall Street concerns, but the Facebook parent has "strong" drivers for overall growth next year, BofA Securities said Thursday.

The social-media giant continues to expect "significant" growth in capital expenditures next year, Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said in a late Wednesday earnings call, according to a transcript posted on the company's website.

"Given this, along with the back-end weighted nature of our 2024 (capital expenditure), we expect a significant acceleration in infrastructure expense growth next year as we recognize higher growth in depreciation and operating expenses of our expanded infrastructure fleet," Li told analysts

Although Meta's projected infrastructure expense growth is expected to trigger the Street's concerns, the company is likely to see headcount growth below revenue, and artificial intelligence-driven cost efficiencies, BofA analyst Justin Post said in a Thursday note to clients.

"We think Meta's AI-driven ad improvements still have several quarters to play out," Post said. BofA expects "strong" growth drivers for the company next year, including rising usage trends driven by AI and video, and ramping messaging monetization, according to the note.

BofA raised its price objective on the Meta stock to $660 from $630 while reiterating its buy rating.

Meta shares were down 3.4% in recent trading.

Price: 572.02, Change: -19.79, Percent Change: -3.34