Meta Platforms, Inc. operates in the social technology and advertising industries, building the future of human connection and the technology that makes it possible. The company's products enable people to connect and share through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and AI glasses. Meta is innovating in artificial intelligence technologies to build transformative experiences across its Family of Apps and new platforms, and to advance its vision to deliver personal superintelligence for everyone. The company is moving its offerings beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next computing platform, which it believes will become the next computing platform and the future of social interaction. The metaverse is in the very early stages of its development.

Meta faces significant competition in every aspect of its business, including from companies that facilitate the ability of users to create, share, communicate, and discover content and information online or enable marketers to reach their existing or prospective audiences. The company competes to attract, engage, and retain people who use its products, to attract and retain businesses that use its free or paid business and advertising services, and to attract and retain developers who build compelling applications that integrate with its products. Meta also competes with companies in the development and application of AI, particularly with respect to the development of frontier AI models, as well as the development and delivery of consumer hardware and augmented and virtual reality products and services. The company believes that some users, particularly younger users, are aware of and actively engaging with other products and services similar to, or as a substitute for, its products and services, and it believes that some users have reduced their use of and engagement with its products and services in favor of these other products and services, such as TikTok.

Meta generates substantially all of its revenue from selling advertising placements on its family of apps to marketers, which is reflected in its Family of Apps segment. Ads on its platform enable marketers to reach people across a range of marketing objectives, such as generating leads or driving awareness. Marketers purchase ads that can appear in multiple places including on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads, and WhatsApp, as well as third-party applications and websites. The Reality Labs segment generates revenue from sales of consumer hardware products, software, and content. The majority of marketers use Meta's self-service ad platform to launch and manage their advertising campaigns. The company also has a global sales force focused on attracting and retaining advertisers and providing support throughout the marketing cycle.

Meta's Family of Apps includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Meta AI, Threads, and WhatsApp. Facebook helps give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together through Feed, Reels, Stories, Groups, Marketplace, and more. Instagram brings people closer to the people and things they love through Feed, Stories, Reels, Live, and messaging. Messenger is a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses through text, audio, and video calls. Meta AI is an assistant available across the apps, as a stand-alone app, on AI glasses, and on the web. Threads is an application for text-based updates and public conversations. WhatsApp is a simple, reliable, and secure messaging application used by people and businesses to communicate and transact in a private way. In 2025, Family of Apps revenue was $198.759 billion ¹, and Family of Apps costs and expenses were $96.290 billion ². Family of Apps income from operations was $102.469 billion ³.

Meta's Reality Labs segment includes current product offerings in VR such as Meta Quest devices and software and content available through the Meta Horizon Store, which enable social experiences in gaming, fitness, entertainment, and more. Wearables efforts include AI glasses such as the Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses, which feature Meta AI. In 2025, Meta introduced Meta Ray-Ban Display, which combines its AI glasses with an integrated display built into the lens, and comes with the Meta Neural Band, a wrist-worn wearable device that uses electromyography to let people control their AI glasses using neuromuscular signals. In 2024, Meta unveiled its Orion prototype, a pair of true AR glasses that overlay content on top of the physical world. In 2025, Reality Labs revenue was $2.207 billion ⁴, and Reality Labs costs and expenses were $21.400 billion ⁵. Reality Labs loss from operations was $19.193 billion ⁶. In 2026, Meta expects to spend approximately 70% of its Reality Labs operating expenses on its wearables initiatives, and the remaining 30% on its VR and Horizon initiatives.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, Meta completed several business acquisitions with total purchase consideration of $4.09 billion ⁷ in cash and $450 million ⁸ in shares of its Class A common stock. In November 2025, Meta issued an aggregate of $30.0 billion ⁹ of fixed-rate senior unsecured notes in six series. During 2025, Meta repurchased and subsequently retired 40 million ¹⁰ shares of its Class A common stock for an aggregate amount of $26.26 billion ¹¹. Total dividend and dividend equivalent payments were $5.32 billion ¹² for the year ended December 31, 2025. In October 2025, Meta entered into an arrangement to co-develop a data center campus in Louisiana, contributing $4.30 billion ¹³ of held-for-sale assets, net of liabilities, and receiving a one-time distribution of $2.55 billion ¹⁴. Meta holds a 20% ¹⁵ membership interest in the Venture.

Total revenue for 2025 was $200.966 billion ¹⁶, an increase of 22% ¹⁷ compared to 2024. Income from operations for 2025 was $83.276 billion ¹⁸, an increase of $13.90 billion ¹⁹, or 20% ²⁰, compared to 2024. Net income was $60.458 billion ²¹, with diluted earnings per share of $23.49 ²² for the year ended December 31, 2025. Capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, were $72.22 billion ²³ for the year ended December 31, 2025. Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $81.59 billion ²⁴ as of December 31, 2025. Long-term debt was $58.744 billion ²⁵ as of December 31, 2025. The effective tax rate was 30% ²⁶ for the year ended December 31, 2025. Headcount was 78,865 ²⁷ as of December 31, 2025, an increase of 6% ²⁸ year-over-year.

Meta expects its 2026 Reality Labs operating losses to remain similar to 2025. The company anticipates making capital expenditures of approximately $115 billion to $135 billion ²⁹ in 2026 to support its AI efforts and core business. Absent any changes to its tax landscape, Meta expects its effective tax rate for the full year 2026 to be in the range of 13-16% ³⁰.

Meta is making significant investments in AI initiatives, including generative AI and superintelligence, to recommend relevant content across its products through its AI-powered discovery engine, enhance its advertising tools and improve ad delivery, targeting, and measurement capabilities, and to develop new products as well as new features for existing products. The company expects its AI initiatives will require significantly increased investment in infrastructure and headcount. Meta is also investing in Reels and its discovery engine, wearables, monetization of its products and services, youth, platform integrity and community support, and infrastructure capacity. The company is developing privacy enhancing technologies to deliver relevant ads and measurement capabilities while reducing the amount of personal information it processes, including by relying more on anonymized or aggregated third-party data. Meta is also developing tools that enable marketers to share their data into its systems, as well as ad products that generate more valuable signals within its apps.

Meta is making significant investments in its Reality Labs efforts, including developing virtual and augmented reality devices, software for social platforms, neural interfaces, and other foundational technologies. Many of these investments are directed toward long-term, cutting-edge research and development for products that are not on the market today and may only be fully realized in the next decade. In 2026, Meta expects to spend approximately 70% of its Reality Labs operating expenses on its wearables initiatives, and the remaining 30% on its VR and Horizon initiatives. The company believes the metaverse will become the next computing platform and will unlock monetization opportunities for businesses, developers, and creators, including around advertising, hardware, and digital goods.

Meta expects its expenses to continue to increase in the future as it continues to invest in new and unproven technologies, including AI and machine learning, as it broadens its user base, as users increase the amount and types of content they consume and the data they share, as it develops and implements new products, as it markets new and existing products and promotes its brands, as it continues to expand its technical infrastructure, and as it continues its efforts to focus on privacy, safety, security, and content and advertising review and enforcement. The company's investments in Reality Labs reduced its 2025 overall operating profit by approximately $19.19 billion ³¹, and it expects its 2026 Reality Labs operating losses to remain similar to 2025. Meta's ability to support its Reality Labs efforts is dependent on generating sufficient profits from other areas of its business.

Meta anticipates making capital expenditures of approximately $115 billion to $135 billion ³² in 2026 to support its AI efforts and core business. The company has designed and built its own data centers and key portions of its technical infrastructure, and a substantial portion of its technical infrastructure is also provided by third parties. Meta plans to continue to significantly expand the size of its infrastructure primarily through data centers, subsea and terrestrial fiber optic cable systems, and other projects. The company's ability to provide and continue to innovate its products and services depends on the continued availability of components, power, and network capacity. As of December 31, 2025, Meta had a global workforce of 78,865 ³³ employees.

Share-based compensation expense was $20.427 billion ³⁴ for the year ended December 31, 2025. As of December 31, 2025, $25.03 billion ³⁵ remained available and authorized for repurchases under the share repurchase program. During the year ended December 31, 2025, total dividend and dividend equivalent payments were $5.32 billion ³⁶. Subject to legally available funds and future declaration by its board of directors, Meta currently intends to continue to pay a quarterly cash dividend on its outstanding common stock. Meta anticipates making capital expenditures of approximately $115 billion to $135 billion ³⁷ in 2026.

Meta faces structural headwinds from legislative and regulatory developments such as the General Data Protection Regulation, ePrivacy Directive, Digital Markets Act, Digital Services Act, and U.S. state privacy laws, which have impacted and are expected to continue to impact its ability to use data signals in its ad products. Mobile operating system and browser providers, such as Apple and Google, have implemented product changes that limit the ability to target and measure advertising, which has negatively impacted and is expected to continue to negatively impact the size of the budgets marketers are willing to commit. Meta also faces headwinds from competitive products and services, such as TikTok, that have reduced some users' engagement with its products and services, particularly among younger users. The company is subject to increased business, macroeconomic, and geopolitical uncertainty, including as a result of volatility around international trade, which could impact its financial results in future periods.

Meta faces significant execution risks related to its AI initiatives, including that its AI-related efforts subject it to risks related to harmful or illegal content, accuracy, misinformation and deepfakes, bias, discrimination, toxicity, consumer protection, products liability, intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, defamation, data privacy, cybersecurity, and sanctions and export controls. The company also faces risks that its Reality Labs strategy and investments may not be successful, as the metaverse may not develop in accordance with its expectations and market acceptance of features, products, or services it builds is uncertain. Meta regularly evaluates its product roadmaps and makes significant changes as its understanding of the technological challenges and market landscape and its product ideas and designs evolve. The company's ability to support its Reality Labs efforts is dependent on generating sufficient profits from other areas of its business.

Management's message emphasizes Meta's mission to build the future of human connection and the technology that makes it possible, with a focus on innovating in AI technologies to build transformative experiences and advance its vision to deliver personal superintelligence for everyone. The company is investing now in AI and the metaverse because it believes these have the potential to begin a new era of individual empowerment and become the next computing platform. Key strategic priorities for the period ahead include focusing on several key investment areas: AI, Reels and the discovery engine, wearables, monetization of products and services, youth, platform integrity and community support, and infrastructure capacity. Management expects Reality Labs to continue to operate at a loss for the foreseeable future, with 2026 Reality Labs operating losses expected to remain similar to 2025. The company anticipates making capital expenditures of approximately $115 billion to $135 billion ⁴² in 2026 to support its AI efforts and core business. Absent any changes to its tax landscape, Meta expects its effective tax rate for the full year 2026 to be in the range of 13-16% ⁴³.

Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $200.966 billion ⁴⁴, compared to $164.501 billion ⁴⁵ for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net income was $60.458 billion ⁴⁶ for 2025, compared to $62.360 billion ⁴⁷ for 2024. Diluted earnings per share was $23.49 ⁴⁸ for 2025, compared to $23.86 ⁴⁹ for 2024. Income from operations was $83.276 billion ⁵⁰ for 2025, compared to $69.380 billion ⁵¹ for 2024. The effective tax rate was 30% ⁵² for 2025, compared to 12% ⁵³ for 2024. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily due to the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted in July 2025, which resulted in a $15.93 billion ⁵⁴ charge in the third quarter of 2025, of which $14.03 billion ⁵⁵ was a valuation allowance against U.S. federal deferred tax assets. Free cash flow was $43.585 billion ⁵⁶ for 2025, compared to $52.103 billion ⁵⁷ for 2024. Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $81.59 billion ⁵⁸ as of December 31, 2025, compared to $77.81 billion ⁵⁹ as of December 31, 2024. Long-term debt was $58.744 billion ⁶⁰ as of December 31, 2025, compared to $28.826 billion ⁶¹ as of December 31, 2024. Family of Apps revenue was $198.759 billion ⁶² for 2025, and Reality Labs revenue was $2.207 billion ⁶³ for 2025. Family of Apps income from operations was $102.469 billion ⁶⁴ for 2025, and Reality Labs loss from operations was $19.193 billion ⁶⁵ for 2025.

Meta faces material risks from legislative and regulatory developments that limit its ability to use data signals for ad targeting and measurement, including the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, DMA, and U.S. state privacy laws, which have negatively impacted and will continue to negatively impact advertising revenue. The company is subject to significant litigation, including youth-related actions where plaintiffs have indicated they intend to seek damages up to the high tens of billions of dollars ³⁸, and a jury verdict in Flo Health where plaintiffs are seeking $5,000 ³⁹ in statutory damages per class member for up to approximately 1.6 million ⁴⁰ class members. Meta's AI initiatives expose it to risks related to harmful content, intellectual property infringement, and regulatory scrutiny, including litigation alleging improper use of copyrighted materials for AI training where statutory damages are calculated on a per work basis. The company's significant investments in Reality Labs reduced 2025 operating profit by approximately $19.19 billion ⁴¹, and it expects 2026 operating losses to remain similar, with no guarantee of future success. Meta's business is highly competitive, and competitive products like TikTok have reduced user engagement, particularly among younger users.