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About Meta Platforms Inc
History of the company
Meta Platforms, Inc., doing business as Meta, operates as a global social technology company and is more commonly known as the parent company of Facebook, the largest social media network in the world with over 2.9 billion monthly active users as at Jan 2023 [1].
The company was originally founded as Facebook in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg – together with co-founders Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin. Facebook proved to be an early hit; by December 2004, the social network had garnered 1 million subscribers [2].
New features were added as development continued, including moving from desktop to mobile (2006) and later, a dedicated app for the iPhone (2008). Following a redesign and introduction of the “Like” button, Facebook’s user base had reached 500 million by July 2010 [3].
In 2012, the company achieved three of its most significant milestones. One was the acquisition of Instagram in April, and two, the launch of its Initial Public Offering in May. By October 2012, Facebook had over 1 billion active users worldwide [4].
The company would continue to cement its dominant position, bolstered by the acquisition WhatsApp and VR-gear maker Oculus in 2014; and impressive growth in active users for Messenger and Instagram (over 1 billion monthly active users by July 2016 and June 2018 respectively), as well as WhatsApp (over 1 billion daily active uses by July 2017. Meanwhile, Facebook itself reached 2 billion monthly active users in June 2017 [5].
In October 2021, the company was renamed and rebranded to Meta Platforms in a reflection of its new vision [6].
Business segments
Meta’s main business segments revolve around advertising revenue that is generated from its diverse range of social media platforms. With Facebook at its core, Meta predominantly earns its revenue through digital advertising [7].
Leveraging its massive user base and widespread social media presence, Meta offers advertisers an opportunity to reach a wide audience. Through self-serve ads and targeted advertising options, Meta provides a range of advertising solutions for businesses, catering to both large enterprises and smaller advertisers looking to promote their products or services to a vast viewership.
The company also provides photo-sharing via Instagram and instant messaging services via WhatsApp and Messenger. It is also investing heavily in developing virtual-reality products and services through Meta’s Reality Labs which makes the company’s Oculus virtual-reality headsets [8].
About the stock META
META trading information
- Primary exchange: NASDAQ
- Ticker: META
- Country: U.S.
- Currency: USD
- Trading hours:
- Main: 9.30am to 4pm ET, Mon to Fri
- Pre-market: 4am to 9.30am
- After-market: 4pm to 8pm
When was META listed?
META was first listed on the NASDAQ on 18 May 2012, in what was the largest technology IPO in the United States. Its share price was USD 38, allowing the company to raise a total of USD 16 billion – a record at that time [9].
At the time of writing, the price for one META stock is USD 211.94, representing a return of 5.57x. The stock’s highest price was seen on 10 Sep 2021, when it closed the day at USD 378.69 [10].
Stock splits
META has never undergone a stock split since its launch. The number of Class A common shares outstanding is estimated to be 2.702 billion as at December 2022 [11].
(Note: Class A common stock refers to shares owned by retail investors and represents one vote per share. Meta’s management team owns Class B shares that carry 10 votes per share, effectively giving them control over the company) [12].
Dividends
META does not pay a dividend.
Latest developments investors should note
Facebook daily active users reached 2 billion in Dec 2022
Despite a challenging 2022, Meta ended the year with positive growth seen in active user numbers [13].
Notably, the core Facebook platform saw an average of 2 billion daily active users in December 2022, an increase of 4% year-on-year. During the same period, increases in active users were also seen across the company’s Family of Apps. Daily active people reached 2.96 billion, up 5% year-on-year, while monthly active people grew to 3.74 billion, up 4% year-on-year [14].
While the uptick in active users is encouraging, the company still struggles with falling ad revenue. Revenue was USD 32.17 billion for the fourth quarter, and USD 116.61 billion for a full year – a decrease of 4% and 1% year-over-year, respectively [15].
This was due to a drop in average price per ad of 22% year-over-year for the fourth quarter, even as total ad impressions delivered across Meta’s Family of Apps increased by 23% year-on-year. For the full year 2022, ad impressions increased by 18% year-over-year and the average price per ad decreased by 16% year-over-year.
Nevertheless, the company remains in strong financial health. Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were reported at USD 40.74 billion as of December 31, 2022, against long-term debt of USD 9.92 billion [16].
Meta fined over USD 400 million for forcing EU users to accept targeted ads
In January 2023, Meta was fined over USD 400 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission which concluded that the company’s advertising and data handling practices were in breach of EU privacy laws [17].
Both Facebook and Instagram were ordered to pay fines of EUR 210 million and EUR 180 million respectively [18]. Additionally, Meta must bring its data processing operations into compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation within three months. Essentially, this change forces Meta to ask users in the EU if they wanted their data to be used for ads or not, while also allowing them to change their minds at any time.
In response, Meta announced it will change the legal basis of how Facebook and Instagram use personal data for targeted advertising in the European Union, effectively offering a greater degree of choice to users in the region [19].
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References
- “FACEBOOK STATISTICS AND TRENDS – Datareportal”. https://datareportal.com/essential-facebook-stats. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Facebook’s first 15 years were defined by user growth – Vox”. https://www.vox.com/2019/2/4/18203992/facebook-15-year-anniversary-user-growth. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Facebook hits 500 million users – CNN Money”. https://money.cnn.com/2010/07/21/technology/facebook_500_million/index.htm. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Facebook reaches one billion users – CNN Business”. https://money.cnn.com/2012/10/04/technology/facebook-billion-users/index.html Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Mark Zuckerberg: 2 Billion Users Means Facebook’s ‘Responsibility Is Expanding – Forbes”. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2017/06/27/facebook-officially-hits-2-billion-users/?sh=5a05c23f3708. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Facebook changes company name to Meta – CNBC”. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/28/facebook-changes-company-name-to-meta.html. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “How Does Facebook (Meta) Make Money?– Investopedia”. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/120114/how-does-facebook-fb-make-money.asp. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “How Does Facebook (Meta) Make Money?– Investopedia”. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/120114/how-does-facebook-fb-make-money.asp. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “When Did Facebook (Meta) Go Public? – Investopedia”. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/111015/when-did-facebook-go-public.asp. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Meta Platforms – Stock Price History | META – Macrotrends”. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/META/meta-platforms/stock-price-history Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Meta Platforms Shares Outstanding 2010-2022 | META – Macrotrends”. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/META/meta-platforms/shares-outstanding. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Understanding the different stock types is important when choosing which to include in your portfolio – Business Insider”. https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/stock-types. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Meta Posts Increase in Users, Steady Revenue, in Latest Performance Update – SocialMediaToday”. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/Meta-Q4-2022-Report/641810/ Accessed 27 April 2023.
- “Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results – Meta Investor Relations”. https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2023/Meta-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2022-Results/default.aspx. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results – Meta Investor Relations”. https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2023/Meta-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2022-Results/default.aspx. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results – Meta Investor Relations”. https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2023/Meta-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-2022-Results/default.aspx. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Ireland fines Meta over $400 million for its targeted advertising practices – The Verge”. https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/4/23538750/ireland-dpc-meta-instagram-facebook-gdpr-violation-fines. Accessed 27 April 2023.
- “Meta fined over $400 million by top EU regulator for forcing users to accept targeted ads – CNBC”. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/04/meta-fined-more-than-400-million-in-ireland-over-eu-privacy-breaches.html. Accessed 25 April 2023.
- “Meta to give EU users more options for data handling – Reuters”. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/meta-explores-ban-political-ads-europe-ft-2023-03-30/. Accessed 25 April 2023.
