Alphabet vs. Meta: how they make money

• Advertisers on Google Search · 55.7% of revenueBusinesses paying for ads on Search and other Google properties.
• Google Cloud customers · 14.6% of revenueOrganizations of all sizes paying for computing, AI tools and Workspace.
• Subscribers and app and device buyers · 11.9% of revenuePeople paying for YouTube subscriptions, Google One, Google Play purchases and Pixel phones.
• Advertisers on YouTube · 10.0% of revenueBusinesses paying for ads on YouTube.
• Advertisers on partner sites · 7.4% of revenueBusinesses paying for ads placed through Google Network on other websites and apps, 7.4% of FY2025 revenue.
• Other Bets customers · 0.4% of revenueMainly riders on autonomous transportation services and buyers of internet services.

• Advertisers (marketers) · 97.6% of revenueBusinesses of all sizes buy ads, mostly on Facebook and Instagram, with no long-term commitments. Some pay through resellers.
• Businesses and users paying for app services · 1.3% of revenueWhatsApp business messaging fees, Meta Verified subscriptions, payments fees and other Family of Apps revenue.
• Buyers of Reality Labs products · 1.1% of revenueConsumers buying virtual- and augmented-reality hardware, software and content.

FY2025

FY2025

Debt

$126.1B

Cash and investments

$265.1B

On Sep 30, 2026.

On Sep 30, 2026 cash and marketable securities of $265.1 billion exceeded debt of $126.1 billion by $139.0 billion. Of that cash figure, $90.4 billion was shares in other companies.

Debt

$83.7B

Cash and investments

$82.4B

On Sep 30, 2026.

On 30 Sep 2026 Meta's notes ($83.7 billion) were $1.2 billion more than its cash and marketable securities ($82.4 billion). The notes equalled about 0.6 years of operating cash flow.

• 3 classes of shares (votes per share: Class A common stock 1, Class B common stock 10, Class C capital stock 0).
• Larry Page (co-founder, director): 46.5% of its class, 27.4% of votes (as of Apr 6, 2026).
• Sergey Brin (co-founder, director): 42.9% of its class, 25.3% of votes (as of Apr 6, 2026).
• Vanguard Capital Management: 7.5% (as of Mar 31, 2026).
• 1 more holders on the Alphabet page.

• 2 classes of shares (votes per share: Class A common stock 1, Class B common stock 10).
• Mark Zuckerberg: 99.8% of its class, 60.8% of votes (as of Apr 1, 2026).
• BlackRock: 7.2% of its class, 2.8% of votes (as of Apr 1, 2026).
• Vanguard Capital Management: 7.5% (as of Mar 31, 2026).

• Large commitments not counted in debt (debt)On Sep 30, 2026 Alphabet had $924.4 billion of purchase commitments, of which $802.1 billion is shown at maximum contractual limits. It also had $130.5 billion of leases not yet started and $75.7 billion of data center backstops, promises to cover others' payments if needed.
• More debt and more shares (debt)Debt rose from $48.5 billion on Dec 31, 2025 to $126.1 billion on Sep 30, 2026. Alphabet repurchased no shares in the first nine months of 2026, and shares outstanding rose from 12,088 million to 12,294 million. Preferred stock adds more common shares at conversion in 2029.
• Net income swings with equity investments (other)Net gains on equity securities were $99.0 billion in Q2 FY2026, and Q3 FY2026 had a net loss of $8.7 billion, largely from SpaceX. Most of $128.2 billion in investments is in one private company Alphabet does not name.
• AI rivals and changes in online ads (competition)Alphabet's FY2025 10-K lists AI model developers among its competitors. It says AI is quickly reshaping the advertising industry, and there is no assurance it will adapt effectively.

• European rules on ads and WhatsApp (regulation)The EU fined Meta €200 million under the Digital Markets Act over 'subscription for no ads' (under appeal). A June 2026 interim measure requires free WhatsApp Business API access for general-purpose AI providers. Europe gave 23.2% of FY2025 revenue by billing address.
• New shares from the Oct 2026 offerings (other)On 26 Oct 2026 Meta launched about $22.5 billion of Class A stock sales through forward agreements and about $12.5 billion of mandatory convertible preferred stock. The preferred converts on or about 15 Aug 2029 into Class A stock, or into Class C stock once that class is issued and other conditions are met; the forward sales may also be settled in Class C. These would add to the share count when the forward sales settle (by 19 Nov 2027) and the preferred converts. Meta also plans about $60 billion of Class C stock sales.
• Slower user growth (demand)Daily active people grew 3% in Q3 FY2026, down from 8% a year earlier. Meta said internet disruptions in Iran and a WhatsApp restriction in Russia hit Q1 FY2026 numbers.