⚡What does Meta do, in 30 seconds?
Meta runs Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads, which people use for free, and makes nearly all its money by selling ads on them 13. It took in $201.0bn ✓ in FY2025, and its apps made up 99% ✓ of that. Its Reality Labs unit makes VR headsets and AI glasses 1, and it loses money 14.
📱What does Meta sell?
Meta has two business units, the Family of Apps and Reality Labs 4. In FY2025 the apps earned almost all the money, at 99% ✓. Reality Labs builds headsets and glasses 1.
Family of Apps
Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads 1, plus the Meta AI assistant inside them 1. In FY2025 this unit brought in $198.8bn ✓. Nearly all of Meta's money comes from ads 13. The unit's other revenue comes from WhatsApp paid messages, Meta Verified subscriptions and developer payment fees 4.
👥 About 3.64bn people used at least one Meta app each day in September 2026 5. From a user survey, Meta estimates that at least 500 million small businesses use its apps 6.
Reality Labs
Meta Quest VR headsets and AI glasses, including Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta and Meta Ray-Ban Display, which has a screen built into the lens 1. Display comes with the Meta Neural Band, a wristband that reads muscle signals to control the glasses 1. Sales were $2.2bn ✓ in FY2025. AI glasses sales grew in 2025 while Quest sales fell 47.
👥 People who buy VR headsets, AI glasses and apps from the Meta Horizon Store 1.
How the mix has shifted
Where the customers are
US & Canada is Meta's biggest region, at 39% ✓ of FY2025 sales. Asia Pacific came next at 27% ✓, then Europe at 23% ✓ and the rest of the world at 11% ✓. In 2025 the number of ads Meta showed grew in every region, especially Asia-Pacific 4.
💸How does Meta make money?
Follow the money from left to rightfrom top to bottom: what customers pay for, what it costs to make, and what is left as profit.
Meta took in $201.0bn ✓ in FY2025. Advertising brought in $196.2bn of it 1428. Running the apps and data centers and making devices cost $36.2bn ✓. What is left is gross profit, the money kept after paying for what was sold. That came to $164.8bn ✓.
Next come the costs of running the company. Research and development took $57.4bn ✓, which is 28.5% ✓ of sales, shown as $28 ✓ of every $100 once rounded to whole dollars. Sales, marketing and admin took $24.1bn ✓. What remains is operating profit, which was $83.3bn ✓. Meta added $2.7bn ✓ of other income and its income tax bill was $25.5bn ✓. Net income was $60.5bn ✓. Put simply, out of every hundred dollars of sales, $13 ✓ went to income tax and Meta kept about $30 ✓ as profit.
Out of every $100 customers paid in FY2025…
Interest, investment gains and other income added +$1 for every $100 of sales, so the slices above add up to a little more than $100.
⏱️ Meta by the clock
Spread the FY2025 totals evenly over its 365 days and you get this. Source: Meta Platforms, Inc. 10-K [8].
📈How is Meta doing?
Meta is growing fast and is very profitable, but it now spends heavily on AI. From FY2015 to FY2025, sales grew 27.3% ✓ a year on average. Sales rose in 9 ✓ of those 10 ✓ years. The one dip came in FY2022, at -1.1% ✓. In FY2025, sales grew 22.2% ✓ and operating margin was 41.4% ✓.
The latest four quarters, to 30 September 2026, brought sales of $241.6bn ✓, up 27.5% ✓. Operating margin over those quarters was 32.9% ✓. Q3 2026 costs included a $9.89bn charge for an agreement with US attorneys general 5. That agreement, with 52 attorneys general, has payments of up to about $18.59bn 23. Cash spent on data centers and equipment reached $69.7bn ✓ in FY2025, up from $37.3bn ✓. Over the four quarters to 30 September 2026 it climbed to $104.4bn ✓, and free cash flow shrank to $28.6bn ✓. Meta now plans $135-145bn of capital spending for 2026, on a measure that also counts finance-lease payments 526.
📝 The report card
Meta earns top marks for growth, profit and cash, a good mark for its balance sheet at the end of FY2025, and a weak mark for steadiness. Cash flow and the balance sheet have weakened since then, as capital spending soared. Every company is graded on the same fixed scale, so an A means the same thing on every page. The strip shows where Meta (orange) and its 5 peers land; further right is better.
Growth
Meta's sales grew 19.9% ✓ a year over its last three fiscal years, which earns an A ✓ on the fixed scale. Pinterest grew 14.6% ✓ a year, good for a B ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Growing sales is the engine of a business. Mature giants rarely grow fast, so 5% a year already earns a C.
Profitability
Over the last three years combined, Meta kept 39.9% ✓ of sales as operating profit, an A ✓. Alphabet kept 30.7% ✓, while Snap lost money at -17.1% ✓, an F ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Operating margin is the share of each sales dollar left after running the business. Software and platforms often clear 30%; hardware makers usually sit below 10%.
Cash generation
Over the last three years combined, Meta turned 28.8% ✓ of sales into free cash flow, an A ✓. FY2025 was lower, at 22.9% ✓, as data center spending jumped. Over the four quarters to 30 September 2026 it fell further, to 11.9% ✓, as equipment spending reached $104.4bn ✓.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
Free cash flow is the cash left after paying for factories, data centres and equipment. It funds dividends, buybacks and new bets.
Balance sheet
At the end of FY2025, Meta's cash and investments minus its borrowings (leases not counted) equalled 11.4% ✓ of a year's sales, a B ✓. Pinterest holds far more spare cash, at 58.4% ✓, an A ✓. By 30 September 2026, Meta's debt of $83.7bn ✓ was slightly more than its $82.4bn ✓ of cash and investments. That left net cash, leases not counted, at -$1.2bn ✓, so Meta now owes slightly more than it holds.
Why this measure? (higher is better)
More cash than debt gives a company room to ride out bad years. Some debt is normal; a lot of it makes a company fragile.
Steadiness
Meta's yearly growth rates swing a lot, with a standard deviation of 16.1% ✓, which earns a D ✓. Growth ranged from 54.2% ✓ in FY2016 to -1.1% ✓ in FY2022. Alphabet's figure is 9.4% ✓, a C ✓.
Why this measure? (lower is better)
Steady growers are easier to plan around. Big swings mean sales depend on product cycles, the economy or one-off events.
🧑🏫 How the grades work
- Same scale for everyone. Each measure has fixed cut-offs (shown under each strip). Clear the A line and you get an A, whatever your peers do.
- Three years together. Profitability and cash generation add up the last three fiscal years before dividing, so one unusual year counts for less than it would on its own (a year much bigger than the others still weighs most).
- Peers for context. The rank shows how Meta compares with the group. Companies within 0.1 percentage point share a rank.
- Same source. Every company's figures come from its own latest annual report (10-K), so fiscal years end in different months.
- Judgement, openly stated. The cut-offs are QuantVantage.ai's view of what good looks like for a large, established company. They are not a forecast or a recommendation.
11 years at a glance
Where the cash goes
Meta has made more free cash than it handed back to shareholders. From FY2015 to FY2025 it made $299.6bn ✓ of free cash flow and spent $184.4bn ✓ on buybacks and dividends. In FY2025, payouts equalled 68% ✓ of free cash flow. Free cash flow itself fell to $46.1bn ✓ from $54.1bn ✓, as spending on equipment jumped from $37.3bn ✓ to $69.7bn ✓. The squeeze has grown since. Over the four quarters to 30 September 2026, equipment spending reached $104.4bn ✓ and free cash flow fell to $28.6bn ✓, or 11.9% ✓ of sales. In October 2026 Meta launched two stock offerings, which it says support its AI infrastructure spending 630. One sells $25.0bn of Class A shares through forward sale agreements, and the other about $12.5bn of convertible preferred stock 630. Meta gets the cash from the share sale when the agreements settle, which it expects by 19 November 2027 630.
🧮Ratios 101: what are Meta's key financial ratios?
Ratios shrink Meta's giant numbers into easy comparisons. They show a very profitable business that is now pouring cash into AI. A ratio divides one number by another so companies of any size can be compared. Each card shows the formula with Meta's real FY2025 numbers, the peer median and the trend.
💰 Profitability: how much of each sale is kept?
Gross margin
What is left from each sale after paying to make the product or deliver the service.
👉 Meta keeps 82.0% ✓ of sales as gross profit, a little below 84.0% ✓ in FY2015 but far above the 55.0% ✓ peer median.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 40% usually signals pricing power or a big software or services mix.
Operating margin
What is left after also paying for research, marketing and running the company.
👉 At 41.4% ✓, Meta's operating margin is well above the 11.2% ✓ peer median and its own 34.7% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 20% is strong for a large company.
Net margin
The bottom line: profit after interest and taxes, per dollar of sales.
👉 Meta kept 30.1% ✓ of sales as final profit in FY2025, up from 20.6% ✓ in FY2015 and well above the 10.8% ✓ peer median. It fell from 37.9% ✓ in FY2024, the year before.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 15% is strong; one-off tax items can move it in a single year.
Return on equity (ROE)
Profit earned for each dollar that shareholders have left in the company.
👉 ROE of 27.8% ✓ beats the 18.9% ✓ peer median and is far above 8.3% ✓ in FY2015. It is not boosted by a tiny equity base, as shareholders' equity is $217.2bn ✓.
📏 Rule of thumb: Around 15% or more is good, but buybacks shrink equity and can make ROE look huge.
⚙️ Efficiency: how hard do the assets work?
Return on assets (ROA)
Profit earned from everything the company owns, however it was paid for.
👉 ROA of 16.5% ✓, up from 7.5% ✓ in FY2015, is well above the 9.5% ✓ peer median.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 10% is strong; banks and factories usually earn less.
Asset turnover
Dollars of sales squeezed out of each dollar of assets.
👉 Sales are only 0.5x ✓ total assets, below the 0.8x ✓ peer median. Meta owns 30 data center locations 125.
📏 Rule of thumb: Retailers often top 2x; asset-heavy businesses can sit below 0.5x.
🛟 Safety: could it survive a bad year?
Current ratio
Can short-term assets (cash, money owed by customers, stock) pay the bills due within a year?
👉 At 2.6x ✓, short-term assets easily cover bills due within a year, above the 2.0x ✓ peer median. It was even higher in FY2015, at 11.2x ✓.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 1.0x is the classic comfort line, but cash-rich giants can run below it on purpose.
Debt to equity
How much the company has borrowed for each dollar shareholders have in it.
👉 Meta had almost no debt in FY2015, at 0.0x ✓. Total debt grew to $58.7bn ✓ by the end of FY2025, putting the ratio at 0.3x ✓ against a 0.2x ✓ peer median. By 30 September 2026, debt had risen again, to $83.7bn ✓.
📏 Rule of thumb: Below 1.0x is conservative. Like ROE, it can rise when buybacks shrink equity, even if debt has not changed.
Interest cover
How many times over operating profit could pay the year's interest bill.
👉 Operating profit covers interest costs 71.5x ✓, far above the 35.2x ✓ peer median, though down from 270.7x ✓ in FY2015 as debt grew.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 5x is comfortable; below 2x is a warning sign.
💵 Cash and owners: where does the money end up?
Cash conversion
Does reported profit turn into real cash? Free cash flow is operating cash minus capital spending.
👉 Meta turned profit into free cash at 0.8x ✓ in FY2025, down from 2.1x ✓ in FY2015 as data center spending soaked up cash. The peer median is 0.7x ✓.
📏 Rule of thumb: Near or above 1.0x means profits are backed by cash.
R&D intensity
How much of each sales dollar goes into inventing future products.
👉 Meta spends 28.5% ✓ of sales on R&D, above the 22.7% ✓ peer median and its own 26.9% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Tech companies often spend 10% to 20%; more is not always better if it does not pay off.
Stock pay
Pay given to staff in shares instead of cash. It is a real cost to owners because it adds shares.
👉 Stock pay is 10.2% ✓ of sales, above the 6.2% ✓ peer median but down from 16.5% ✓ in FY2015.
📏 Rule of thumb: Under 5% of sales is modest for a tech company.
Shareholder payout
How much of the year's profit was handed back to owners.
👉 Meta returned 52.2% ✓ of FY2025 profit through buybacks and dividends, below the 68.5% ✓ peer median. In FY2015 it paid out nothing, at 0.0% ✓.
📏 Rule of thumb: Above 100% means it returned more than it earned, using cash savings or debt.
Ratios use fiscal-year-end balance sheet values. Inputs are shown rounded, so dividing them can differ from the result in the last digit. A peer median leaves out peers that do not report the inputs, or where the ratio means nothing (for example, negative shareholders' equity). Rules of thumb are general guides from QuantVantage.ai, not hard limits. No share-price ratios (like price-to-earnings) are shown on this page.
🥊Who are Meta's competitors?
Meta competes for people's time, especially younger users, and TikTok has cut some users' time on its apps 47. It also competes for marketers' ad budgets with Alphabet 1428 and Amazon 171819. Snap also runs ad-funded camera and messaging apps 151. Pinterest sells ads to marketers who want to reach shoppers 1614. Apple runs iOS, and its privacy changes cut Meta's ad targeting 4201.
| Company | Where they compete | Revenue | Growth/yr (3y) | Op. margin | FCF margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Platforms (META, FY2025) | Social apps, messaging, ads, AI assistants and smart glasses | $201.0bn | 19.9% | 41.4% | 22.9% |
| Alphabet (GOOGL, FY2025) | Online ad budgets; YouTube ads brought in $40.4bn in 2025 14 | $402.8bn | 12.5% | 32.0% | 18.2% |
| Snap (SNAP, FY2025) | Ad-funded camera, messaging and short-video apps, plus smart glasses 151 | $5.9bn | 8.8% | -9.0% | 7.4% |
| Pinterest (PINS, FY2025) | Ads for people discovering and shopping for products 1614 | $4.2bn | 14.6% | 7.6% | 29.7% |
| Amazon (AMZN, FY2025) | Sponsored, display and video ads sold to businesses 171819 | $716.9bn | 11.7% | 11.2% | 1.1% |
| Apple (AAPL, FY2025) | Runs iOS, whose 2021 privacy changes cut Meta's ad targeting; also sells the Vision Pro headset 4201 | $416.2bn | 1.8% | 32.0% | 23.7% |
A US judge called TikTok Meta's fiercest rival 24. Microsoft, like Meta, sells online ads and builds AI assistants 331. Meta also says it competes with other companies building frontier AI models 331.
🧭Meta SWOT: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
💪 Strengths
- 3.64bn people used at least one Meta app each day in September 2026 5.
- In 2025, Meta showed 12% more ads and charged 9% more per ad; Meta credits the price rise mostly to better ad targeting and measurement 4.
- Over the last three years combined, Meta turned 28.8% ✓ of sales into free cash flow, an A ✓ on our report card, though the latest four quarters fell to 11.9% ✓.
- The apps earned $102.47bn of operating profit in 2025, a 52% operating margin 14.
🩹 Weaknesses
- Almost all of Meta's revenue comes from ads on Facebook and Instagram 3.
- Reality Labs lost $19.19bn in 2025, and Meta expects losses for the foreseeable future 14.
- Apple's 2021 iPhone privacy changes cut Meta's ability to target and measure ads 4201.
- One person holds control, as Mark Zuckerberg has a majority of the votes 3.
🚀 Opportunities
- Other app revenue grew 50% in 2025, mostly from WhatsApp paid messages and Meta Verified 4.
- About 7 million Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta smart glasses were sold in 2025, says Meta's glasses partner EssilorLuxottica 27.
- In Q3 2026 Meta launched Muse, an AI agent, and Muse Wonder, which it calls its first frontier model 75. Meta says Muse signed up more than 10 million users in the US and Canada in its first weeks 6.
- Meta plans to sell AI services to businesses through a Meta Enterprise Platform, and says WhatsApp is becoming an important home for business agents 6.
- Ad prices rose 14% in Q3 2026 even as the number of ads shown grew 10% 5.
⚠️ Threats
- A New Mexico court set a $25bn penalty in October 2026, which Meta intends to appeal 23.
- More youth-safety trials are scheduled for March and August 2027 23 23.
- EU rules and Apple's and Google's phone changes have limited the data Meta can use to target ads 4.
- Meta had $454.52bn of contracts at 30 September 2026, mostly for cloud capacity, servers and data center energy 7. It says its superintelligence lab spending will take longer to pay off 5.
- Meta faces competition among younger users in particular, and TikTok has reduced some users' time on its apps 47.
🏰Does Meta have a moat?
Why 3?
Meta says its brands have helped its success a great deal, and lists bad press and harm to them as risks 3. Its apps drew 3.64bn people a day in September 2026 5. But using the apps is free 13. Meta also faces a $25bn New Mexico penalty, which it intends to appeal 23. It agreed to pay up to about $18.59bn to settle teen mental health lawsuits 23.
Why 3?
Meta estimates from a survey that at least 500 million small businesses use its apps 6. But advertisers have no long-term commitments, and many spend only a small part of their budgets with Meta 3. Users can drift too, as TikTok has cut some users' time on Meta's apps 47. A US judge called TikTok Meta's fiercest rival 24.
Why 5?
Meta says its user communities have generally grown as people invite their friends 13. On average 3.58bn people used its apps each day in December 2025, up 7% 4, and 3.64bn in September 2026 5. More than 2 million businesses use its Business Agent each week 6. Meta says it faces competition among younger users in particular 47.
Why 4?
Meta designs its own data centers and owns 30 data center locations, though it also relies on others for a large part of its infrastructure 125. It is building four superclusters of over one gigawatt each and investing in custom chips to cut computing costs 6. It plans $135-145bn of 2026 capital spending, including finance-lease payments 526. Its three-year operating margin of 39.9% ✓ beats Alphabet's 30.7% ✓.
Why 2?
Meta says its technology does not depend on any single patent or group of patents 1. It has shared its Llama AI models openly 1. Rules work against Meta, as EU laws, US state privacy laws and phone makers' changes have limited its use of data for ads 4. In June 2026 the EU ordered WhatsApp, as an interim step, to open its business tools to rival AI chatbots for free, and Meta intends to appeal 23.
A moat is what keeps rivals from taking a company's customers and profits. Scores are QuantVantage.ai's judgement (5 = strongest), set with the same rubric on every explainer (orange is Meta; grey dots are peers).
🔭What should you watch next?
Next youth-safety injury trials in Los Angeles
Two more plaintiffs were set to try their cases against Meta together from 28 October 2026 23. More trials are scheduled from 16 March 2027 23 and 6 August 2027 23. In the first such case, a jury awarded $6m, split between Meta and YouTube, and Meta has appealed 23.
FTC appeal over Instagram and WhatsApp
The FTC is appealing the November 2025 ruling for Meta, and the appeal is pending 23.
EU review of the less-personalised ads choice
Meta committed to give EU users a choice of less personalised ads from January 2026, and the European Commission will gather evidence on uptake 34.
Reality Labs losses
Meta expects a Reality Labs loss of around $15bn in 2027, down from $18-19bn in 2026, as it moves investment toward AI 5.
📚Learn the words
❓Frequently asked questions about Meta
If Facebook is free, how does Meta make money?
Meta makes money by selling ads that appear in its free apps 13. In 2025 advertising brought in $196.2bn 1428, out of total sales of $201.0bn ✓.
Does Meta own Instagram and WhatsApp?
Yes, Meta owns both. It bought Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 2429. The FTC's lawsuit sought to force Meta to sell them 2429. A court ruled for Meta in November 2025, and the FTC has appealed 23.
How many people use Meta's apps?
About 3.64bn people used at least one Meta app each day in September 2026, up 3% on a year earlier 5.
Does Meta make money from VR headsets and smart glasses?
No. Reality Labs lost $19.19bn in 2025 14. Meta expects a loss of $18-19bn in 2026 and around $15bn in 2027 5.
Why is Meta spending so much on AI?
Meta says AI already adds a lot of ad revenue through better recommendations and more efficient ads 5. In FY2025, its equipment spending was $69.7bn ✓. On a wider measure that also counts finance-lease payments, it plans $135-145bn in 2026 526.
Why did Meta's profit drop in Q3 2026?
A $9.89bn legal charge pulled profit down; without it, Q3 operating profit would have been $22.88bn instead of $12.99bn 5. The charge is for an agreement with 52 US attorneys general over teen mental health, worth up to about $18.59bn 23. About $5.3bn of that depends on rivals such as YouTube and TikTok agreeing to similar terms 723.
Why is Meta selling new shares?
Meta says its new stock sales support its AI infrastructure spending 630. In October 2026 it launched a $25.0bn share sale and about $12.5bn of convertible preferred stock 630. Its new non-voting Class C shares are meant for raising money, paying staff and possible deals 5. Mark Zuckerberg controls a majority of the votes 3, and the Class C handout does not change anyone's voting power 315.
Does Meta pay a dividend?
Yes. Meta paid no dividend in FY2023, at $0.0bn ✓, then paid $5.1bn ✓ in FY2024. In FY2025 it paid $5.3bn ✓, and it spent $26.2bn ✓ on buybacks.
🎮Play: higher or lower, then test yourself
Figures come from each company's latest annual report (10-K); fiscal years end in different months. Sources: [8] [10] [11] [9] [21] [22].
🧠 Test yourself
5 quick questions. Score: 0 / 5
1. About how much of Meta's sales came from its apps in FY2025?
2. What happened in October 2021?
4. What is the street address of Meta's headquarters?
5. Roughly how much profit did Meta make every second in FY2025?
🔎Sources and method
Every figure comes from a source listed here or is calculated from those sources (marked ✓). Company financials are taken from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q) as tagged in XBRL. Peer grades rank the same measures across the company and its peers. This page contains no share-price data and no valuation.
- Meta Platforms Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-01-29) — Item 1 Business: mission, apps, Reality Labs products, segments, sales, competition, technology, marketing, intellectual property, corporate information, fiscal year (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms (META) Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed 2026-01-29 — revenue by product, segment and geography (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-01-29) — Item 1A Risk factors: advertising concentration, marketer commitments, brands, key personnel, dual-class control, controlled company (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-01-29) — Item 7 MD&A: 2025 results by segment, ad impressions and average price per ad, other revenue, Reality Labs revenue, seasonality, developments in advertising, daily active people (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta press release: Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results (8-K Exhibit 99.1, 2026-10-21) — Q3 2026 highlights, legal charge, headcount, CFO outlook for Q4 2026, 2026 and 2027, Class C reasons, About Meta (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta free writing prospectus dated 2026-10-26: launch of preferred and common stock offerings — Financing plan, funding mix, Muse and business agent usage, data centers and superclusters (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 (filed 2026-10-22) — MD&A: Q3 and nine-month 2026 ad impressions and average price per ad, Reality Labs revenue, May 2026 headcount reduction and severance, non-cancelable commitments, Muse, daily active people trends (accessed 2026-10-29)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Meta Platforms (META) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: PINTEREST, INC. (PINS) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Snap Inc (SNAP) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Meta Platforms (META) — quarterly 10-Q/10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Meta Platforms (META) — balance sheet at 2026-09-30 (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Alphabet Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 7 and Note 2: revenue by type 2024-2025, Google Network properties, TAC rate, paid clicks and cost-per-click, major customers (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Snap Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-02-05) — Camera and visual messaging app, 474 million daily active users in Q4 2025, Specs AR glasses, named competitors including Meta and Instagram feature overlap (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Pinterest Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-02-12) — Visual search and discovery platform, 619 million monthly active users, shopping ads, named competitors including Meta (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Amazon Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Notes: net sales by groups of similar products and footnote definitions; revenue recognition for seller services and subscriptions (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Amazon Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 competition and Item 1A competition risk: competitor groups, principal competitive factors, AI and comparison shopping (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 competition: companies that sell advertising to businesses (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Apple Form 10-K for fiscal year ended September 27, 2025 (filed 2025-10-31) — Apple Vision Pro spatial computer; advertising services include Apple's own advertising platforms (accessed 2026-10-29)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: AMAZON COM INC (AMZN) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- SEC EDGAR companyfacts: Apple Inc. (AAPL) — annual 10-K facts (accessed 2026-10-28)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 (filed 2026-10-22) — Legal and related matters: youth-related actions, New Mexico case, multistate attorneys general agreement, bellwether trial dates, FTC appeal, EU DMA and WhatsApp AI interim measure (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Broadband Breakfast (Associated Press): Meta prevails in historic FTC antitrust case (2025-11-18) — Judge found the FTC had not shown current monopoly power and called TikTok the fiercest rival; Instagram bought in 2012, WhatsApp in 2014 (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-01-29) — Item 2 Properties: data center locations (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta press release: Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (8-K Exhibit 99.1, 2026-01-28) — First 2026 capital expenditure outlook (accessed 2026-10-29)
- UploadVR: Meta and EssilorLuxottica sold 7 million smart glasses in 2025 (2026-02-11) — About 7 million Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta glasses sold in 2025, per EssilorLuxottica Q4 2025 results (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — Item 1 competition for advertisers; Item 1A mobile operating system providers Apple and Google; advertising revenue 2025 (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed 2026-01-29) — Item 3 and notes: legal proceedings (FTC antitrust case) and Scale AI minority investment (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta free writing prospectus dated 2026-10-26: term sheet for the common stock and Series A mandatory convertible preferred offerings — Offering sizes, 6.50% preferred dividend, settlement dates, forward sale settlement deadline (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms Form 8-K dated 2026-10-19 (filed 2026-10-21): Class C common stock and Founder Alignment Agreement — Non-voting Class C common stock, one-for-one stock dividend, Founder Alignment Agreement terms (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Meta Platforms Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 — Corporate name change from Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms, Inc. in October 2021; FB ticker (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Microsoft Form 10-K for fiscal year ended June 30, 2026 — Search advertising (Bing, Copilot, Microsoft News, Edge) competes with social platforms; AI offerings compete with frontier model providers and open-source offerings (accessed 2026-10-29)
- European Commission (Digital Markets Act): Meta commits to give EU users choice on personalised ads (2025-12-08) — EU users offered a less personalised ads choice from January 2026; Commission to gather evidence on uptake (accessed 2026-10-29)