Meta: how the business works

Marketers pay Meta to reach the people who use its apps; research and computing take the most, and about $30 of every $100 was profit in FY2025.

• 01In FY2025 advertising brought in $196.2 billion, 97.6% of revenue. Business messaging, subscriptions and Reality Labs devices made up the rest.
• 02Spending on buildings, servers and other equipment rose from $18.6 billion in FY2021 to $69.7 billion in FY2025.

• Ads on Facebook, Instagram and its other apps

  Businesses pay to show ads in the apps. Advertising was $196.2 billion, 97.6% of FY2025 revenue.

• The apps themselves (the 'Family of Apps')

  Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Meta estimates 3.64 billion people used at least one of them each day in September 2026.

• Business messaging and subscriptions

  Fees from businesses for WhatsApp messaging, Meta Verified subscriptions, payments and similar services. This 'other revenue' was $2.58 billion in FY2025.

• Reality Labs devices and software

  Virtual- and augmented-reality hardware, software and content for consumers. Revenue was $2.21 billion in FY2025.

• AI models and assistant

  Meta builds its own AI models; the company said on its Q2 FY2026 call that it had shipped Muse Spark 1.1. Meta does not report revenue from AI separately.

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Establishment of New Class C Common Stock (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1); Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript and 1 more

• Advertisers (marketers)

  98%

  of revenue

  Businesses 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%

  of revenue

  WhatsApp business messaging fees, Meta Verified subscriptions, payments fees and other Family of Apps revenue.

• Buyers of Reality Labs products

  1%

  of revenue

  Consumers buying virtual- and augmented-reality hardware, software and content.

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Sep 2026

1. 1Marketers paid Meta $196.2 billion for ads in FY2025; app services and Reality Labs added $4.8 billion.
2. 2Research and development was the biggest cost, at $57.4 billion. It includes staff pay and AI work.
3. 3Running the apps and data centres cost $36.2 billion; marketing, sales and administration took another $24.1 billion.
4. 4Income tax took $25.5 billion, including a one-time $15.9 billion charge from a US tax-law change.
5. 5What was left, $60.5 billion, was net income.

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)

Each line = amount ÷ total money in × 100. Lines may not add to exactly $100 because of rounding.

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)

• Data centres and servers

  Meta owned 30 data center locations at the end of 2025, and its property and equipment was worth $253.2 billion on its books on 30 Sep 2026.

• Bought-in computing capacity

  On 30 Sep 2026 Meta had $454.52 billion of non-cancelable contractual commitments, mostly for third-party cloud capacity and servers.

• People's daily attention

  Ads only sell if people keep opening the apps. Daily active people reached 3.64 billion in September 2026, up 3% from a year earlier (company estimate).

• Engineers and researchers

  Meta had 66,775 employees on 30 Sep 2026, 15% fewer than a year earlier after a May 2026 job cut of about 8,000 people.

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Establishment of New Class C Common Stock (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1); Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Sep 2026 and 1 more

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023; Form 8-K: name change from Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms, Inc.; new segment structure

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025

Source: Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Establishment of New Class C Common Stock (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1); Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023; Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 and 1 more

• More ads and higher prices per ad

  Working

  Ad revenue +25.9%, Q3 FY2026

  Ad revenue was $63.06 billion in Q3 FY2026, up from $50.08 billion a year earlier. Ad impressions rose 10% and the average price per ad rose 14%.

  Status: Working, on track against what the company said.

• More revenue per user

  Working

  $17.72 per person, Q3 FY2026

  Average revenue per person (Family of Apps revenue ÷ average daily active people) was $17.72 in Q3 FY2026, up 23% from a year earlier.

  Status: Working, on track against what the company said.

• User growth

  Mixed

  3.64 billion a day, +3%

  Daily active people grew 3% in Q3 FY2026, slower than 8% a year earlier. Meta said Q1 FY2026 numbers were hit by internet disruptions in Iran and a restriction on WhatsApp in Russia.

  Status: Mixed, partly on track.

• Paid messaging and subscriptions

  Working

  $1.10 billion, Q3 FY2026

  Family of Apps 'other revenue' (WhatsApp business messaging, Meta Verified and similar) rose 59% from $690 million a year earlier. It is still under 2% of revenue.

  Status: Working, on track against what the company said.

• Meta's own AI models and assistant

  Early

  Revenue not disclosed

  On the Q2 FY2026 call (29 Jul 2026) Meta said it had shipped Muse Spark 1.1, and that daily users of its assistant rose 60% after Muse Spark was added.

  Status: Early, too early to judge.

• Reality Labs devices

  Mixed

  FY2025 revenue $2.21B

  Reality Labs revenue was about the same in FY2025 as in FY2021 ($2.27 billion), while its yearly operating loss rose from $10.19 billion to $19.19 billion.

  Status: Mixed, partly on track.

Status compares progress with what the company itself said it would do: Working = on track against what the company said; Mixed = partly on track; Behind = behind the company's own plan; New = recently announced; Early = too early to judge.

Source: Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Establishment of New Class C Common Stock (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1); Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript; Meta Reports Third Quarter 2025 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1) and 5 more

EBITDA here = operating income plus depreciation and amortization (from the cash flow statement). Fiscal years are the company's own (Fiscal year ends on 31 December (Meta's fiscal year is the calendar year)). Net profit is the share belonging to the company's owners.

• Official (GAAP): Net cash from operating activities, FY2025

  $115.8B

  Company's own measure: Free cash flow (Meta's definition), FY2025

  $43.6B

  Meta subtracts purchases of property and equipment ($69,691 million) and principal payments on finance leases ($2,524 million) from operating cash flow. This page's free cash flow ($46,109 million) subtracts only the purchases.

• Official (GAAP): Net cash from operating activities, Q3 FY2026

  $32.8B

  Company's own measure: Free cash flow (Meta's definition), Q3 FY2026

  −$2.1B

  Operating cash flow $32,786 million − purchases of property and equipment $33,942 million − finance-lease principal payments $964 million. It is the first negative quarter from Q4 FY2024 to Q3 FY2026.

• Official (GAAP): Purchases of property and equipment, FY2025

  $69.7B

  Company's own measure: Capital expenditures including finance leases (Meta's definition), FY2025

  $72.2B

  Meta adds principal payments on finance leases ($2,524 million) to purchases of property and equipment. Meta's capital-expenditure outlooks use this definition.

• Official (GAAP): Reported revenue growth, Q3 FY2026

  26.0%

  Company's own measure: Revenue growth excluding currency effects, Q3 FY2026

  26.0%

  Meta's measure recalculates revenue at the prior year's exchange rates to remove currency movements.

• Official (GAAP)

  No official figure measures this; it is the company's own operating measure.

  Company's own measure: Daily active people (DAP), December 2025

  3.6 billion people

  Meta's estimate of people who used at least one of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp on a given day, averaged over the last month of the period. Meta says the error margin is about 3%.

• Official (GAAP)

  No official figure measures this; it is the company's own operating measure.

  Company's own measure: Average revenue per person (ARPP), FY2025

  57 US$ per person

  Family of Apps revenue ÷ average daily active people, summed over the four quarters. Meta changed the definition in Q1 2024, so figures before 2024 are not comparable. FY2024 was $49.63.

These are the company's own measures, defined by the company. They are not comparable across companies, and they are not added together. Each sits beside the nearest official (GAAP) figure.

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1); Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Establishment of New Class C Common Stock (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)

• Net debt = notes $80,922 million (due after one year) + $2,747 million (notes due Aug 2027, shown inside 'accrued expenses and other current liabilities') − cash $11,222 million − marketable securities $71,227 million = $1,220 million. The 'long-term debt' line alone would show net cash of $1,527 million.
• Operating cash flow for the four quarters to 30 Sep 2026 was $133,088 million; notes ÷ that cash flow = 0.63 years.
• Face value of the notes was $84.0 billion and their fair value $73.31 billion. Meta says the notes carry no financial covenants.
• Not counted as debt here: operating lease liabilities of $31,173 million ($2,522 million current + $28,651 million non-current).
• Not counted as cash: $13,132 million of restricted cash, including a $10.80 billion money-market escrow for infrastructure purchase agreements.
• Meta also had $454.52 billion of non-cancelable contractual commitments, mostly for cloud capacity and servers, and a maximum exposure to loss of $68.40 billion from two data-centre ventures, including $41.49 billion of residual value guarantees.
• Year-end net cash (cash + marketable securities − long-term debt) was $47,998 million in FY2021, $30,815 million in FY2022, $47,018 million in FY2023, $48,989 million in FY2024 and $22,848 million in FY2025. Meta had no long-term debt at the end of 2021; it first issued notes in Aug 2022.

Source: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Sep 2026; Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Establishment of New Class C Common Stock (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1); Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025

Officers and directors (as a group), votes

60.9%

From the company's proxy statement (DEF 14A), later Schedule 13G filings and the share counts on its latest annual or quarterly report. Each holder row shows the date of its own filing.

Source: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Sep 2026; 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A); Preliminary Information Statement (Schedule 14C): Restated Charter establishing Class C common stock, Class C dividend, Equity Plan Amendment and 1 more

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023; Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Form 8-K: first quarterly cash dividend and $50B buyback increase (Q4 2023 results) and 5 more

• Mark Zuckerberg

  Founder, chairman and chief executive officer

  Controls about 61% of shareholder votes through Class B shares. In a Founder Alignment Agreement signed on 20 Oct 2026, he agreed to limits on selling his Class C shares. He also separately committed, for eight years and while he stays in a leadership role, to remain a resident of California or wherever Meta has its headquarters, absent material unforeseen circumstances.

• Susan Li

  Chief financial officer

  Gives Meta's spending and revenue outlook on earnings calls.

Source: 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A); Preliminary Information Statement (Schedule 14C): Restated Charter establishing Class C common stock, Class C dividend, Equity Plan Amendment; Form 8-K: Founder Alignment Agreement, Q3 2026 results, Class C stock dividend (Items 1.01, 2.02, 8.01) and 11 more

Auditor

Ernst & Young LLP, since 2007

Auditor changes

None in the period covered

Audit qualifications

None reported

Related-party dealings

On 20 Oct 2026 Meta signed a Founder Alignment Agreement with Mark Zuckerberg, its controlling shareholder. 80% of the Class C dividend shares his group gets are 'stapled'. Each sale of those needs a matching sale or conversion of Class A or B shares, which reduces his votes. 2.5% of stapled shares are released each quarter while he stays an executive. The agreement also sets extra Class C dividends for all holders if set price and return conditions are met. A special committee of independent directors recommended the Class C plan.

Credit rating

Moody's / S&P (as stated by Meta) Aa3 / AA- (Not stated in the filing), Oct 26, 2026

A credit rating describes the company's ability to repay debt. It is not a rating of the share.

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Form 8-K: Founder Alignment Agreement, Q3 2026 results, Class C stock dividend (Items 1.01, 2.02, 8.01); Preliminary Information Statement (Schedule 14C): Restated Charter establishing Class C common stock, Class C dividend, Equity Plan Amendment and 4 more

Share price

$642.62

Market value (market cap)

$1.64T

P/E

21.8×

P/B

6×

Source: META historical quotes (closing prices, Oct 2026); Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Sep 2026; Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1) and 3 more

• Concentration

  Almost all revenue comes from ads

  Advertising was 97.6% of FY2025 revenue. Advertisers have no long-term commitments, and Meta says a small number of resellers serving China-based advertisers give it meaningful revenue.

  Watch Ad revenue growth, ad impressions and average price per ad each quarter.

• Execution

  Capital spending exceeded operating cash flow in Q3 FY2026

  On 21 Oct 2026 Meta said it expected 2026 capital expenditures of $135–145 billion. In Q3 FY2026 operating cash flow of $32.79 billion was less than purchases of property and equipment of $33.94 billion. On 30 Sep 2026 Meta had $454.52 billion of non-cancelable commitments, mostly for cloud capacity and servers.

  Watch Full-year 2026 capital expenditures against the range, and the first 2027 outlook.

• Legal

  Youth-safety lawsuits and settlements

  The August 2026 agreement with 52 attorneys general could cost up to about $18.59 billion over 10 years, of which $5.3 billion is contingent and not accrued. In New Mexico, the court awarded about $567 million in abatement costs (6 Aug 2026) and ordered a $25 billion civil penalty (21 Oct 2026). Meta filed motions to vacate the earlier judgments (8 Sep 2026) and says it has accrued an amount for the penalty and intends to appeal. A Los Angeles jury also returned a verdict against Meta, and more trials are scheduled.

  Watch The consolidated user trial set to start on 28 Oct 2026, the trials set for Mar and Aug 2027, and the New Mexico post-trial rulings and appeal.

• Regulation

  European rules on ads and WhatsApp

  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.

  Watch Outcomes of Meta's appeals in the EU cases.

• Governance

  One person controls the votes

  Mark Zuckerberg held about 60.6% of the votes on 1 Oct 2026 through 10-vote Class B shares. New non-voting Class C shares let Meta issue stock without changing that voting control, and Meta plans to sell Class C shares through an at-the-market program.

  Watch Class C issuance after 19 Jan 2027 and any stapled sales or conversions under the Founder Alignment Agreement.

• Other

  New shares from the Oct 2026 offerings

  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.

  Watch Final pricing and share numbers in the prospectus supplements, and the Class C at-the-market agreement.

• Execution

  Reality Labs keeps losing money

  Reality Labs lost $19.19 billion in FY2025 on $2.21 billion of revenue. Meta said on 21 Oct 2026 it expected losses of $18–19 billion in 2026 and around $15 billion in 2027.

  Watch Reality Labs operating loss each quarter against those statements.

• Demand

  Slower user growth

  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.

  Watch Daily active people each quarter.

Source: Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Sep 2026; Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Establishment of New Class C Common Stock (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1) and 5 more

Source: Form 8-K: name change from Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms, Inc.; new segment structure; Form 10-K for fiscal year 2023; Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Sep 2026 and 7 more

What does Meta Platforms do?

Meta Platforms, Inc. owns the apps Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Meta estimates that 3.64 billion people used at least one of them each day on average in September 2026. Meta's Reality Labs unit sells virtual- and augmented-reality hardware, software and content.

How does Meta make money?

Meta Platforms makes almost all of its money by selling ads. In FY2025 (the year to 31 Dec 2025) advertising brought in $196.2 billion, 97.6% of Meta's total revenue of $201.0 billion.

Who are Meta's customers?

Meta Platforms' customers are mainly marketers who buy ads on Facebook and Instagram, with no long-term commitments. No customer gave 10% or more of revenue. By customer billing address, the US and Canada gave 39.2% of Meta's FY2025 revenue, Asia-Pacific 26.8%, Europe 23.2% and the rest of the world 10.8%.

How big is Meta?

Meta Platforms had revenue of $200,966 million and net income of $60,458 million in FY2025. FY2025 net income included a one-time $15.93 billion non-cash tax charge. Meta had 66,775 employees on 30 Sep 2026.

Who controls Meta?

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Platforms' founder, held 99.8% of Meta's Class B shares on 1 Apr 2026. Each Class B share carries 10 votes, so he had 60.8% of all votes, according to Meta's 2026 proxy statement. Meta's Class A shares carry one vote and trade on Nasdaq as META.

How much does Meta spend on data centres and equipment?

Meta Platforms spent $69.7 billion buying property and equipment in FY2025, up from $18.6 billion in FY2021. Including principal payments on finance leases, Meta's own capital expenditure figure for FY2025 was $72.2 billion.

Does Meta pay a dividend?

Meta Platforms started paying a quarterly cash dividend in 2024, at $0.50 a share. It paid $0.525 a share each quarter of 2025 and of 2026 up to September. These per-share amounts are before the Class C share dividend. Dividends paid in FY2025 totalled $5.32 billion.

Does Reality Labs make a profit?

No. Meta Platforms' Reality Labs segment had revenue of $2.21 billion and an operating loss of $19.19 billion in FY2025. Its revenue was $2.27 billion in FY2021, when the loss was $10.19 billion.

What is Meta's new Class C stock?

On 19 Oct 2026 Meta Platforms' board declared a dividend of one new non-voting Class C share per Class A and Class B share. It depends on a restated charter that takes effect on 19 Jan 2027. Record and payment dates had not been set as of 21 Oct 2026.

Source: Meta Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Announces Establishment of New Class C Common Stock (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1); Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025; Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 Sep 2026 and 6 more

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