Wix Posts Q3 Beat, Analysts Cut Price Targets On Base44 Investment Cycle

Shares of Wix.Com Ltd (NASDAQ:WIX) were under pressure in early trading on Thursday, even after the company reported upbeat third-quarter earnings.

Here are some key analyst takeaways:

• Scotiabank analyst Nat Schindler maintained a Sector Outperform rating, while slashing the price target from $255 to $175.
• Needham analyst Bernie McTernan reiterated a Buy rating, while cutting the price target from $200 to $180.
• Citizens JMP Securities analyst Andrew Boone reaffirmed a Market Outperform rating, while reducing the price target to $185.
• Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Deepak Mathivanan reiterated an Overweight rating, while lowering the price target from $160 to $135.
• Benchmark analyst Mark Zgutowicz maintained a Buy rating and price target of $185.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Scotiabank: Wix delivered "a clean beat" in the top and bottom lines, backed by core platform strength and "strong acceleration from Base44," Schindler said in a note. The company's revenues of $505 million came in higher than consensus of $502 million, while operating expenses were above expectations due to higher R&D costs associated with Base44, he added.

The company raised its revenue guidance by around $15 million at the low end and took its bookings outlook higher by around $11.5 million at the midpoint, the analyst stated. "We've entered an era where unbridled AI enthusiasm has gradually been replaced with skepticism about monetization of endless AI investments," he further wrote.

Needham: Wix is focusing on Base44 and plans to increase its investment to drive further growth, McTernan said. This could exert pressure on margins in the near term, he added.

Base44 could scale from the current $15 million to $70 million in 2026, which could prove conservative, the analyst stated. "WIX has made significant progression on FCF margins over the past years, however, is willing to stall this growth given the growth and potential they see in Base44 and vibe coding," he further wrote.

Citizens JMP Securities: Wix reported mixed results, with bookings and revenue above consensus estimates, Boone said. The company raised its 2025 operating expense guidance by 1 point, as it is "investing in marketing spend to support Base44 growth," he added.

Wix's 2025 guidance suggests that gross profit margins could contract sequentially by 220 basis points in the fourth quarter, the analyst stated. The company seems to be "tracking towards $50M+ of ARR next month," he further wrote.

Cantor Fitzgerald: Wix reported its bookings and revenue above Street estimates by 1%, Mathivanan said. EBIT came in 7% below expectations due to "incremental compute and marketing spend on Base44," he added.

The company guided to revenue growth of 13%-15% for the fourth quarter, representing a slight acceleration versus the third quarter, the analyst stated.  "WIX now expects its AI self-creator solution to be launched in early-2026 (vs. 2H25 previously) due to the expanded scope of the offering," he further wrote.

Benchmark: Wix's results and outlook suggest accelerated bookings and revenue growth through year-end, Zgutowicz said. He added, however, that the company's guidance implies gross and operating margin deleverage implied in the back half of the year and subsequently in 2026, he added.

This reflects incremental marketing spend and AI compute and server costs that are well ahead of consensus expectations, the analyst stated. "Given an accelerated investment profile, Base44 will need to demonstrate significant growth through 1H'26E to instill investor confidence in 2H'26E op. margin expansion," he further wrote.

WIX Price Action: Shares of Wix had declined by 1.63% to $100.04 at the time of publication on Thursday.

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