Here are 1-3 brief analogies for Meta Platforms:

• Like Alphabet (Google's parent company), but focused on social media platforms and building virtual reality.
• The Google of social networking and the metaverse, driven by advertising revenue.
• Like Nintendo, but creating hardware and social experiences specifically for virtual reality.

• Facebook: A global social networking service for connecting with people, sharing updates, and discovering content. (Service - Social Networking)
• Instagram: A visual social networking service focused on photo and video sharing, stories, and short-form reels. (Service - Social Networking)
• WhatsApp: A secure messaging and voice-over-IP service enabling private and group communication globally. (Service - Communication)
• Messenger: A communication service integrated with Facebook for text, voice, and video calls between users. (Service - Communication)
• Quest VR Headsets: A line of virtual reality hardware providing immersive experiences for gaming, fitness, and metaverse exploration. (Product - Hardware)
• Horizon Worlds: A virtual reality metaverse platform allowing users to create, explore, and interact in digital environments. (Service - Virtual Social Platform)
• Advertising Services: A platform providing tools for businesses to create and deliver targeted advertisements across Meta's family of applications. (Service - Digital Advertising)

Meta Platforms (symbol: META) primarily sells its services to other companies, making it a Business-to-Business (B2B) model. Its customers are advertisers.

The vast majority of Meta's revenue is generated from advertising services, which are purchased by businesses of all sizes to reach users across its platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Due to the highly diversified and fragmented nature of its advertiser base, Meta does not have a concentrated customer base. This means there are no specific "major customers" that individually account for a significant portion of its revenue to be listed by name.

Instead, Meta serves millions of advertisers globally, ranging from small local businesses to large multinational corporations across virtually every industry sector. These advertisers utilize Meta's platforms for various marketing objectives, including brand awareness, lead generation, and direct sales.

• NVIDIA (NVDA)
• Qualcomm (QCOM)
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM)
• Arista Networks (ANET)
• Samsung Electronics (005930.KS)
• Micron Technology (MU)
• Quanta Computer (2382.TW)
• Wistron (3231.TW)

Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman

Mark Zuckerberg is the founder, CEO, and Chairman of Meta Platforms, which he originally founded as Facebook in 2004. He is responsible for setting the company's overall direction and product strategy. Before Facebook, Zuckerberg developed programs such as "ZuckNet" and a music player called "Synapse Media Player" in his youth. He co-founded Facebook with roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes while attending Harvard University. Zuckerberg also co-founded and co-leads the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) with his wife Priscilla Chan, which they established in 2015 to address societal challenges through technology, collaboration, and resources. Facebook went public in May 2012. While Meta (under Zuckerberg's leadership) has acquired numerous companies like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus VR, there is no indication that Zuckerberg personally founded or managed other companies that he then sold to an acquirer outside of Meta's acquisitions. Early in Facebook's history, venture capitalist Peter Thiel provided seed money. However, there is no mentioned pattern of Zuckerberg managing companies specifically backed by private equity firms.

Susan Li, Chief Financial Officer

Susan Li became Meta's Chief Financial Officer in 2022. She joined Facebook (now Meta) in 2008 and has since risen through the ranks, previously serving as Vice President of Finance. As CFO, she oversees financial operations, investment planning, shareholder relations, and strategic forecasting, managing Meta's capital allocation across various initiatives including Reality Labs and AI infrastructure. Li started her career as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley from 2005 to 2008. There is no information indicating that Susan Li founded or managed other companies prior to Meta, or that she sold companies she was previously involved with to an acquirer, nor is there a pattern of her managing companies backed by private equity firms.

Javier Olivan, Chief Operating Officer

Javier Olivan has been the Chief Operating Officer of Meta Platforms since 2022, succeeding Sheryl Sandberg. He joined Facebook (now Meta Platforms) in October 2007 as head of international growth. As a founding member of the growth team, he played a central role in the global expansion of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Before joining Facebook, Olivan worked as a research and development engineer at Siemens in Munich and for NTT Data in Tokyo, and as a product manager at Siemens Mobile. He holds degrees in electrical and industrial engineering from the University of Navarra and an MBA from Stanford University.

Andrew Bosworth, Chief Technology Officer

Andrew "Boz" Bosworth has been the Chief Technology Officer at Meta since January 2022 and is also the Head of Reality Labs, the company's AR/VR organization which he established in 2017. He joined Facebook in January 2006 as one of its first 15 engineers. During his tenure, he helped create key products such as the Facebook News Feed, the original Facebook mobile ads platform, and the Facebook messaging system. Before leading Reality Labs, he ran the Ads and Business Platform product group, significantly increasing its annual revenue. Bosworth graduated from Harvard University in 2004, where he met Mark Zuckerberg while working as a teaching assistant.

Jennifer Newstead, Chief Legal Officer

Jennifer G. Newstead is the Chief Legal Officer of Meta, where she oversees all global legal matters, including corporate governance, product and regulatory counseling, litigation, and intellectual property. She joined Meta (then Facebook) in 2019. Prior to Meta, Newstead served as the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State, leading the legal team advising the Secretary of State on domestic and international legal issues. Her career also includes roles as General Counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice, and Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel. She was also a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP for twelve years. Newstead holds an AB from Harvard University and a JD from Yale Law School.

1. Regulatory Scrutiny and Antitrust Litigation: Meta Platforms faces intense global regulatory pressure and numerous antitrust lawsuits that threaten its core business model. This includes ongoing antitrust litigation that could potentially force the company to divest key assets like Instagram and WhatsApp, which are crucial for user engagement and advertising revenue. The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) imposes strict rules on large online platforms, with non-compliance potentially leading to fines of up to 6% of Meta's global turnover. Additionally, Meta is facing class-action lawsuits regarding platform safety and content integrity, and an EU antitrust investigation for allegedly restricting third-party AI providers from using WhatsApp's business tools. Changes in content moderation policies, such as the introduction of Community Notes, have also drawn criticism and raised concerns about increased misinformation and hate speech, which could further erode user trust and invite more regulatory action.
2. Intense Competition and Uncertain AI Investment Returns: Meta operates in a highly competitive landscape, facing significant challenges from rivals like TikTok, which continues to challenge its social media dominance and user engagement, particularly among younger demographics. The rise of new-age AI applications is also expanding into social media and e-commerce, posing a serious threat to Meta's advertising revenue, especially as Meta's own AI features have struggled to gain traction against competitors like ChatGPT. While Meta is making massive investments in AI infrastructure, with capital expenditures projected to be substantial, there are significant concerns about the short-term profitability and the unclear return on investment (ROI) for these ventures. Compounding this, Meta's Reality Labs division consistently generates significant operating losses, placing a considerable financial burden on the company.
3. Dependence on Advertising Revenue and Economic Headwinds: Meta's business model is heavily reliant on advertising revenue, which accounts for approximately 98% of its total revenue. This makes the company vulnerable to economic downturns and shifts in advertising spending, as evidenced by decreases in ad revenue due to reduced spending by major advertisers and broader economic headwinds like recession fears and tariffs. A specific risk identified is the potential for a significant revenue hit from Chinese advertisers if tariffs crush their margins, forcing them to cut ad budgets on Meta's platforms.

Apple's Vision Pro mixed-reality headset represents a clear emerging threat to Meta Platforms' Reality Labs division and its ambitious metaverse strategy. Launched in early 2024, the Vision Pro from a powerful competitor like Apple introduces a premium, high-fidelity "spatial computing" experience that directly challenges Meta's Quest line of VR headsets and its vision for the future of virtual and augmented reality. While Meta has focused on broader consumer adoption and gaming, Apple's entry could legitimize the high-end AR/VR market with a different approach, potentially fragmenting the developer ecosystem or setting a new standard for user experience that Meta may struggle to match with its current strategy.

Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) operates across several large addressable markets, primarily in social media advertising and immersive technologies (metaverse, virtual reality, and augmented reality).

Social Media Advertising (Facebook and Instagram)

The global social media advertising market represents a significant addressable market for Meta. This market was valued at USD 374.01 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to USD 468.91 billion by 2030. Another estimate projects the global social media advertising market size to reach USD 302.41 billion by 2032. North America was the dominating region in the global social media advertising market in 2024, driven by high digital ad spending and a strong social media user base. The Asia Pacific region is also expected to register a fast compound annual growth rate (CAGR) due to increased spending on social media advertising.

• Facebook Advertising: Facebook's marketing strategy targets over 3 billion monthly active users globally.
• Instagram Advertising: Instagram ads can reach approximately 1.74 billion users worldwide as of January 2025. Instagram's global ad revenue is projected to reach $69.7 billion in 2025.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp's addressable market is defined by its vast global user base as a messaging service. WhatsApp had over 2.9 billion users worldwide in 2025. This number is projected to surpass 3.2 billion by the end of 2025. The service is available in 180 countries, indicating a broad global reach. While primarily a messaging platform, WhatsApp for Business generated $1.7 billion in 2024, indicating a growing commercial market.

Metaverse/Reality Labs (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality)

Meta's investment in the metaverse and its underlying technologies (VR and AR) targets a rapidly expanding market.

• Metaverse Market: The global metaverse market size was valued at USD 737.73 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 7,639.70 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 29.2% during the forecast period. Other estimates for the global metaverse market size in 2024 range from USD 105.40 billion to USD 132.60 billion. North America dominated the metaverse industry with a market share of 70.78% in 2024.
• Virtual Reality (VR) Market: The global virtual reality market size was estimated at USD 59.96 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 435.36 billion by 2030. Another report valued the global virtual reality market size at USD 53.53 billion in 2024, with an expected increase to USD 557.27 billion by 2034. The Asia Pacific region dominated the VR market with a 39.9% share in 2022.
• Augmented Reality (AR) Market: The global augmented reality market size was estimated at USD 83.65 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 599.59 billion by 2030. Another source indicates a market size of USD 93.67 billion in 2024, projected to grow to USD 1,716.37 billion by 2032. North America dominated the global AR market with a share of 31.29% in 2024.

1. AI-Powered Advertising Enhancements: Meta's significant investments in artificial intelligence are designed to enhance ad targeting precision and overall ad performance across its Family of Apps (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp). These AI advancements lead to improved returns on ad spending for advertisers, which in turn drives higher average ad prices and increased ad impressions. For example, AI content recommendations led to a 5% year-over-year increase in time spent on Facebook and a 10% increase on Threads in Q3, while advertisers using Meta's automated advertising tools, Advantage+, saw a 14% reduction in cost per lead. The rollout of the Lattice model for ad ranking also resulted in a 3% increase in ad conversions. Meta's AI-focused advertising tools are gaining solid traction, with its Advantage+ platform exceeding an annual revenue run rate of $20 billion in Q4 2024.
2. Expansion and Monetization of Business Messaging: The WhatsApp Business Platform is a rapidly growing revenue stream, particularly with the integration of AI-powered agents for customer support and sales. Mark Zuckerberg has indicated that business messaging should become the "next pillar" of Meta's business. This segment's revenue growth has been substantial, with "Family of Apps other revenue" (which includes business messaging) increasing by 48% in Q3 2024, primarily driven by WhatsApp Business Platform revenue growth. Analysts estimate Meta's business messaging market could generate $30-40 billion in revenue over time. High-growth markets like India, Indonesia, and Brazil are identified as key regions for this expansion.
3. Reels Monetization: Reels, the short-form video content format, is the fastest-growing content type on Meta's platforms. Meta is actively expanding its monetization programs for Reels creators, including a new payout model based on content performance rather than specific ad earnings, and broadening its Reels ads program to more users. Reels is already operating at an annualized revenue rate exceeding $50 billion. The company continues to develop new models to ensure creators are compensated, thereby encouraging more content creation on its platforms.
4. Threads Monetization: While newer, Threads is expected to emerge as a meaningful growth catalyst in the medium term. The platform has already surpassed 150 million daily active users. Successful execution of Meta's AI strategy and effective monetization of new platforms like Threads are seen by analysts as crucial for the company's path to future growth.

Share Repurchases

• Meta Platforms authorized an additional $50 billion for share repurchases in January 2024.
• The company repurchased $29.75 billion of its Class A common stock in 2024.
• In 2023, Meta's share repurchases totaled $19.774 billion, and in 2022, they amounted to $27.956 billion.

Share Issuance

• Share-based compensation, which represents the primary form of share issuance, steadily increased from $6.5 billion in 2020 to $16.7 billion in 2024.

Outbound Investments

• Meta has pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy in VR, AR, AI, and customer experience.
• Significant acquisitions include Kustomer for approximately $1 billion in 2020 to enhance enterprise messaging, and Lemnis Technologies in 2020 for VR lens technology.
• In June 2025, Meta Platforms made a multibillion-dollar investment into the AI startup Scale AI, which could exceed $10 billion.

Capital Expenditures

• Meta's capital expenditures were approximately $39.23 billion in 2024, $27.266 billion in 2023, and $31.431 billion in 2022.
• For 2025, capital expenditures are currently expected to be in the range of $70-72 billion, with projections indicating they will be "notably larger" in 2026, potentially exceeding $103 billion.
• The primary focus of these expenditures is to support artificial intelligence efforts, including generative AI, building data centers, and developing powerful AI training clusters, as well as core business needs.