META official logo META
META 3-star rating from Upturn Advisory
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) company logo

Meta Platforms Inc. (META)

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) 3-star rating from Upturn Advisory
$655.66
Last Close (24-hour delay)
Profit since last BUY-10.01%
upturn advisory logo
SELL
SELL since 2 days
  • BUY Advisory
  • SELL Advisory (Profit)
  • SELL Advisory (Loss)
  • Profit
  • Loss
  • Pass (Skip investing)
Upturn Stock price based on last close icon Stock price based on last close
*as per simulation
(see disclosures)
Time period over
  • ALL
  • 1Y
  • 1M
  • 1W

Upturn Advisory Summary

02/20/2026: META (3-star) is a SELL. SELL since 2 days. Simulated Profits (-10.01%). Updated daily EoD!

Upturn Star Rating

Upturn 3 star rating for performance

Moderate Performance

These Stocks/ETFs, based on Upturn Advisory, typically align with the market average, offering steady but unremarkable returns.

Number of Analysts

5 star rating from financial analysts

68 Analysts rated it

Highly popular stock, broad analyst coverage, trusted insights, strong investor interest.

1 Year Target Price $861.3

1 Year Target Price $861.3

Analysts Price Target For last 52 week
$861.3 Target price
52w Low $478.72
Current$655.66
52w High $795.06
Advertisement

Key Highlights

Company Size Large-Cap Stock
Market Capitalization 1.66T USD
Price to earnings Ratio 27.94
1Y Target Price 861.3
Price to earnings Ratio 27.94
1Y Target Price 861.3
Volume (30-day avg) 68
Beta 1.28
52 Weeks Range 478.72 - 795.06
Updated Date 02/21/2026
52 Weeks Range 478.72 - 795.06
Updated Date 02/21/2026
Dividends yield (FY) 0.33%
Basic EPS (TTM) 23.47

Analyzing Revenue: Products, Geography and Growth

Revenue by Products

Product revenue - Year on Year

Revenue by Geography

Geography revenue - Year on Year

Advertisement

Earnings Date

Report Date 2026-01-28
When After Market
Estimate 8.18
Actual 8.88

Profitability

Profit Margin 30.08%
Operating Margin (TTM) 41.31%

Management Effectiveness

Return on Assets (TTM) 16.21%
Return on Equity (TTM) 30.24%

Valuation

Trailing PE 27.94
Forward PE 21.28
Enterprise Value 1620638699202
Price to Sales(TTM) 8.25
Enterprise Value 1620638699202
Price to Sales(TTM) 8.25
Enterprise Value to Revenue 8.06
Enterprise Value to EBITDA 15.33
Shares Outstanding 2187177748
Shares Floating 2182525750
Shares Outstanding 2187177748
Shares Floating 2182525750
Percent Insiders 0.09
Percent Institutions 78.65

Icon representing Upturn AI-generated SWOT analysis summary Upturn AI SWOT

Meta Platforms Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.(META) company logo displayed in Upturn AI summary

Company Overview

Company history and background logo History and Background

Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, Inc., was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes on February 4, 2004. It began as a social networking platform primarily for college students. Key milestones include the launch of the News Feed in 2006, the acquisition of Instagram in 2012 for approximately $1 billion, and the acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014 for approximately $19 billion. In October 2021, the company announced its rebranding to Meta Platforms Inc., signifying its strategic shift towards building the metaverse. The company has since expanded its offerings significantly beyond social networking to include virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.

Company business area logo Core Business Areas

  • Family of Apps: This segment encompasses Meta's core social media and communication platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. These platforms generate revenue primarily through advertising, offering businesses various tools to reach target audiences. They are also exploring e-commerce and other monetization strategies within these apps.
  • Reality Labs: This segment focuses on developing the hardware and software for the metaverse. It includes virtual reality (VR) products like the Meta Quest headsets and augmented reality (AR) technologies. The goal is to build immersive experiences and the foundational technologies for future virtual interactions.

leadership logo Leadership and Structure

Meta Platforms Inc. is led by Mark Zuckerberg as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Other key executives include Sheryl Sandberg (formerly COO, now an advisor), Andrew Bosworth (CTO), and Javier Olivan (COO). The company operates with a hierarchical structure, with various divisions dedicated to its core products and emerging technologies. It maintains a strong centralized leadership, with Zuckerberg holding significant control.

Top Products and Market Share

Product Key Offerings logo Key Offerings

  • Facebook: The flagship social networking platform, offering users a space to connect with friends and family, share updates, join groups, and discover content. It generates substantial advertising revenue through targeted ads. Competitors include TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and Snapchat. As of Q4 2023, Facebook reported 3.07 billion daily active users globally.
  • Instagram: A visually-driven social media platform focused on photo and video sharing, including Stories, Reels, and IGTV. It is a major advertising platform for brands. Competitors include TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, and YouTube Shorts. Instagram has over 2 billion monthly active users.
  • WhatsApp: A widely used encrypted messaging and voice/video calling application. While primarily a communication tool, Meta is exploring monetization through business accounts and payments. Competitors include Telegram, Signal, and iMessage. WhatsApp has over 2 billion monthly active users.
  • Meta Quest (formerly Oculus): Meta's line of virtual reality headsets, aiming to be a gateway to the metaverse. This segment is crucial for Reality Labs' growth. Competitors include HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, and Pico. Market share data is proprietary, but Meta Quest is considered a leading player in the consumer VR market.

Market Dynamics

industry overview logo Industry Overview

Meta operates in the rapidly evolving digital advertising, social media, and virtual/augmented reality markets. The digital advertising market is highly competitive and driven by user engagement and data analytics. The social media landscape is dynamic, with new platforms and content formats constantly emerging. The metaverse and AR/VR sectors are nascent but hold significant future potential, characterized by rapid technological advancements and increasing investment.

Positioning

Meta is a dominant player in the social media and digital advertising industries, boasting a massive global user base across its Family of Apps. Its vast network effect and sophisticated advertising technology provide a significant competitive advantage. In the emerging metaverse space, Meta is aggressively investing and positioning itself as a leader, though this area is still in its early stages with multiple strong contenders.

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

The TAM for digital advertising is in the hundreds of billions of dollars globally, and Meta captures a significant portion. The TAM for the metaverse is projected to reach trillions of dollars in the coming decades, encompassing various sectors like gaming, entertainment, education, and enterprise. Meta is positioned to be a major player in this future market through its Reality Labs investments and platform development.

Upturn SWOT Analysis

Strengths

  • Massive global user base and network effect across its core apps.
  • Highly sophisticated and effective advertising platform.
  • Strong brand recognition and established user loyalty.
  • Significant financial resources for investment in R&D and acquisitions.
  • Pioneering efforts and substantial investment in the metaverse (Reality Labs).

Weaknesses

  • Increasing regulatory scrutiny and antitrust concerns worldwide.
  • Dependence on advertising revenue, making it vulnerable to economic downturns.
  • Reputational challenges related to data privacy, misinformation, and content moderation.
  • Slow adoption and high cost of VR/AR hardware in the Reality Labs segment.
  • Intense competition from newer, agile social media platforms like TikTok.

Opportunities

  • Growth in emerging markets and expansion of services into new demographics.
  • Development and monetization of the metaverse, creating new revenue streams.
  • Expansion into e-commerce and payment solutions within its platforms.
  • Advancements in AI and machine learning to enhance user experience and ad targeting.
  • Leveraging its AR capabilities for practical applications beyond social media.

Threats

  • Stricter data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
  • Increased competition and fragmentation of attention in the social media space.
  • Potential for disruptive technological shifts that could render current platforms obsolete.
  • Government interventions and potential break-up of the company due to antitrust issues.
  • Global economic instability impacting advertising spend.

Competitors and Market Share

Key competitor logo Key Competitors

  • Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)
  • Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
  • Apple Inc. (AAPL)
  • Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
  • ByteDance Ltd. (Privately held, but competitor to TikTok)
  • Snap Inc. (SNAP)

Competitive Landscape

Meta faces intense competition across its business segments. In digital advertising, Google and Amazon are formidable rivals. In social media, TikTok has rapidly gained market share, particularly among younger demographics, posing a significant threat. Apple's privacy changes have impacted ad targeting capabilities. In the AR/VR space, competition is growing with players like Microsoft, Sony, and emerging hardware manufacturers. Meta's advantage lies in its massive user base, integrated ecosystem, and extensive data, but it must continually innovate to maintain its position.

Major Acquisitions

Instagram

  • Year: 2012
  • Acquisition Price (USD millions): 1000
  • Strategic Rationale: To acquire a rapidly growing photo-sharing social network and expand Meta's reach into a visually-oriented user base, diversifying its social media offerings and tapping into a new advertising avenue.

WhatsApp

  • Year: 2014
  • Acquisition Price (USD millions): 19000
  • Strategic Rationale: To acquire the world's largest mobile messaging service, securing a dominant position in global communication and opening doors for future monetization and integration into Meta's broader ecosystem.

Oculus VR

  • Year: 2014
  • Acquisition Price (USD millions): 2000
  • Strategic Rationale: To gain a leading position in virtual reality technology, laying the groundwork for Meta's long-term vision of building the metaverse.

Growth Trajectory and Initiatives

Historical Growth: Meta has demonstrated remarkable historical growth, primarily driven by the expansion of its social media platforms and its highly successful advertising business. The company has consistently grown its user base and revenue for over a decade. However, growth rates have moderated in recent years due to market saturation and increased competition.

Future Projections: Analyst projections for Meta's future growth are generally positive, driven by continued strength in its Family of Apps and the long-term potential of the metaverse. Expectations are for continued revenue growth, though the pace may vary. Profitability is also projected to remain strong, with investments in Reality Labs impacting short-term margins.

Recent Initiatives: Recent strategic initiatives include aggressive investment in AI to enhance all of Meta's products, significant push into the metaverse with continued development of VR/AR hardware and software, and efforts to improve efficiency and cost management ('Year of Efficiency'). The company is also focusing on Reels to compete with short-form video platforms and exploring new monetization strategies across its apps.

Summary

Meta Platforms Inc. is a dominant force in social media and digital advertising, powered by its vast user base and sophisticated platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Its recent rebranding to Meta and substantial investments signal a strategic pivot towards the metaverse, a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. While Meta's core business remains incredibly strong, it faces significant challenges from increasing regulatory pressure, evolving user preferences, and intense competition, particularly from TikTok. Its future success hinges on its ability to successfully transition into the metaverse and navigate the complex regulatory landscape while maintaining the appeal of its existing social media empires.

Similar Stocks

Sources and Disclaimers

Data Sources:

  • Meta Platforms Inc. Investor Relations
  • Company SEC Filings (10-K, 10-Q)
  • Financial news outlets (e.g., Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters)
  • Market research reports (e.g., Statista, eMarketer)
  • Analyst reports and consensus estimates

Disclaimers:

This JSON output is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Data is based on publicly available information and may be subject to change. Market share percentages are estimates and may vary across different analyses. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should conduct their own due diligence before making any investment decisions.

Information icon for Upturn AI Summarization accuracy disclaimer AI Summarization is directionally correct and might not be accurate.

Information icon for Upturn AI Summarization data freshness disclaimer Summarized information shown could be a few years old and not current.

Information icon warning about Upturn AI Fundamental Rating based on potentially old data Fundamental Rating based on AI could be based on old data.

Information icon warning about potential inaccuracies or hallucinations in Upturn AI-generated summaries AI-generated summaries may have inaccuracies (hallucinations). Please verify the information before taking action.

About Meta Platforms Inc.

Exchange NASDAQ
Headquaters Menlo Park, CA, United States
IPO Launch date 2012-05-18
Founder, Chairman & CEO Mr. Mark Elliot Zuckerberg
Sector Communication Services
Industry Internet Content & Information
Full time employees 78865
Full time employees 78865

Meta Platforms, Inc. engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and AI glasses in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL). The FoA segment offers Facebook, which enables people to build community through feed, reels, stories, groups, marketplace, and other; Instagram that brings people closer through Instagram feed, stories, reels, live, and messaging; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; Meta AI, an assistant that's available across apps, as a stand-alone app, on AI glasses, and on the web; Threads, an application for text-based updates and public conversations; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact in a private way. The RL segment provides virtual and augmented reality products, including consumer hardware, software, and content that help people feel connected anytime and anywhere, as well as Meta Quest devices that enable social experiences across gaming, fitness, entertainment, and more. The segment also includes wearables such as AI glasses like Ray Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses, featuring Meta AI for advanced conversational and hands free interaction; and the Meta Ray Ban Display, which combines AI glasses with an integrated lens display and the Meta Neural Band, a wrist worn device using electromyography that lets people control their AI glasses through neuromuscular signals. The company was formerly known as Facebook, Inc. and changed its name to Meta Platforms, Inc. in October 2021. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.