Meta Platforms
Communication ServicesFacebook, Instagram and WhatsApp
$502.66 +1.40% today · Market cap $1.28T
Step 1 · The business
What does it do?
Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Almost all its money comes from ads; it also spends heavily on AI and virtual reality.
How it makes money
Share of yearly revenue
Step 2 · The case for
Why might investors care?
What people like about it, then how the business is doing — each number in plain words.
- Over 3 billion people use its apps daily
How it's doing
Revenue growth
Sales grew 22% over the past year.
Large companies often grow 3–10% a year.
Profit margin
It keeps about $34 of profit from every $100 of sales.
Varies by industry: retailers ~3%, software 30%+.
Price / earnings (P/E)
Investors pay $26 for each $1 of yearly profit.
The S&P 500 average is around 20–25×.
Dividend yield
Pays about $0.40 a year for every $100 of stock.
Steady, mature companies often pay 2–4%.
Step 3 · The case against
What could go wrong?
The risks people point to, and how bumpy owning it can be.
- Ad spending falls in downturns
- Big losses in its VR division
Typical yearly swing
In a typical year the price might end ~38% above or below where it started.
The S&P 500 swings about 17% a year.
If the market fell 15%
A broad 15% fall would move META about 15% in MAVEST's scenario model.
A learning scenario, not a forecast.
Debt level
Little debt, so less pressure when times are tough.
Step 4 · Your turn
Before you decide
Questions worth answering for yourself — there are no right answers.
- 197% of sales come from advertising. What happens if that slows down?
- 2If you already own Communication Services companies, does this add something new — or more of the same?
In your portfolio
You haven't built a practice portfolio yet. Thinking this through starts one, or open Portfolio Lab.
Starts the Decision Coach · practice money · you choose the amount
Price history
Simulated history on mock data. A price move alone isn't a reason to decide.
$502.66+1.40% today
+27.57% over 1Y · Market cap $1.28T
What others are thinking
Reasoning shared by other learners — not tips.
No one has shared research on META yet. Yours could be the first.
Others in Communication Services
Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL · Communication Services
Google Search, YouTube and Google Cloud
$162.48 -0.51%
Mcap $2.01TNetflix Inc.
NFLX · Communication Services
Streaming movies and series worldwide
$612.40 +1.10%
Mcap $264BWalt Disney Co.
DIS · Communication Services
Theme parks, films and streaming
$92.40 -0.30%
Mcap $168B