Meta Platforms (META)

Communication Services · $1.64T market cap · SEC CIK 0001326801

Next reports on Jan 26, 2027, after the close, with analysts expecting $8.57 in earnings per share.

52-week range $520.26 to $779.82. 18% below its 52-week high and 23% above its low.

The case for META

• Revenue up 27.5% on the year.
• Cheap for its growth: 21.8× earnings, where 21% a year of growth would justify about 41×.
• Earns 30% back on shareholder equity.
• Generated $46.1B of free cash flow in FY2025, 23% of revenue.
• 31% of revenue drops through to net profit.
• Earnings per share up 29.8%.

The case against

• Weakest against its peers: price/sales of 6.8× is higher than 83% of Communication Services companies.
• Its weakest area is the price trend (55/100): +3.2% over a year, +7.8% over three months, 18% below its 52-week high.

What the score is made of

Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Communication Services companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.

• Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 19 Communication Services companies.

The financials

The financials, five years deep

Pulled from Meta Platforms's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.

What Meta Platforms says it does

Overview Our mission is to build the future of human connection and the technology that makes it possible. Our products enable people to connect and share through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and AI glasses. We are innovating in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to build transformative experiences and capabilities across our Family of Apps and new platforms, and to advance our vision to deliver personal superintelligence for everyone. We build technology that helps people connect and share, find and build communities, and grow businesses. We also help people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enable people to share their experiences, ideas, photos, videos, and other content with audiences ranging from their closest family members and friends to the public at large, and stay connected everywhere by accessing our products. Meta is moving our offerings beyond…

Risk factors META lists in its 10-K

• If we fail to retain existing users or add new users, or if our users decrease their level of engagement with our products, our revenue, financial results, and business may be significantly harmed
• We generate substantially all of our revenue from advertising. The loss of marketers, or reduction in spending by marketers, could seriously harm our business
• Our user growth, engagement, and monetization on mobile devices depend upon effective operation with mobile operating systems, networks, technologies, products, and standards that we do not control
• Our new products and changes to existing products could fail to attract or retain users or generate revenue and profits, or otherwise adversely affect our business
• We may not be successful in our artificial intelligence initiatives, which could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results
• We make product and investment decisions that may not prioritize short-term financial results and may not produce the long-term benefits that we expect
• We may not be successful in our Reality Labs strategy and investments, which could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results
• If we are not able to maintain and enhance our brands, our ability to maintain or expand our base of users, marketers, and developers may be impaired, and our business and financial results may be harmed
• We may not be able to continue to successfully maintain or grow engaging third-party content on our platform or usage of and engagement with applications that integrate with our products
• Our business is highly competitive. Competition presents an ongoing threat to the success of our business
• Our financial results will fluctuate from quarter to quarter and are difficult to predict
• Unfavorable media coverage negatively affects our business
• We are subject to the risk of catastrophic events and crises, which may have a significant adverse impact on our business and operations
• We have experienced, and could experience in the future, difficulties in building and operating key portions of our technical infrastructure
• Real or perceived inaccuracies in our community and other metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business
• We cannot assure you that we will effectively manage our scale
• We have significant international operations, which subject us to increased business, economic, and legal risks that could affect our financial results
• We face design, manufacturing, and supply chain risks with respect to our consumer hardware products that, if not properly managed, could adversely impact our financial results
• We face inventory risk with respect to our consumer hardware products
• We are involved in numerous class action lawsuits and other litigation matters that are expensive and time consuming, and, if resolved adversely, could harm our business, financial condition, or results of operations
• We plan to continue to make acquisitions and pursue other strategic transactions, which could impact our financial condition or results of operations and may adversely affect the price of our common stock
• We may not be able to successfully integrate our acquisitions, and we incur significant costs to integrate and support the companies we acquire
• We have had, and may in the future have, exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities
• Changes in tax laws or tax rulings could materially affect our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows
• Given our levels of share-based compensation, our tax rate has in the past varied, and may in the future vary, significantly depending on our stock price
• If our goodwill or intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings
• The loss of one or more of our key personnel, or our failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel in the future, could harm our business
• Our CEO has control over key decision making as a result of his control of a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock
• There can be no assurance that we will continue to declare cash dividends
• Payment-related activities may subject us to additional regulatory requirements, regulatory actions, and other risks that could be costly and difficult to comply with or that could harm our business
• Security breaches, improper access to or disclosure of our data or user data, other hacking and phishing attacks on our systems, or other cyber incidents could harm our reputation and adversely affect our business
• Intentional misuse of our services and user data and other undesirable activity by third parties on our platform could adversely affect our business
• If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, the value of our brands and other intangible assets may be diminished, and our business may be adversely affected
• The trading price of our Class A common stock has been and will likely continue to be volatile
• Our status as a "controlled company" could make our Class A common stock less attractive to some investors or otherwise harm our stock price
• Delaware law and provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest difficult, thereby depressing the trading price of our Class A common stock

Filings

Other Communication Services companies