Meta
Social media, advertising and AI · United States
Meta runs Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger for free and earns almost all of its money by selling ads on them, while investing heavily in AI and in Reality Labs headsets and glasses.
What makes it different
Ads on apps fund a multibillion wearables bet.
-$19.2BReality Labs operating lossFY2025
Reality Labs loses far more each year than it earns in sales, paid for by the advertising business.
How big it is
How big is Meta?
$201.0BRevenueFY2025
3.58BDaily active people2025
78,865Headcount2025
How it makes money FY2025
Almost entirely advertising.
- Advertising98%$196.2B
- Reality Labs1%$2.2B
- Other revenue1%$2.6B
How the business works
Attention in, ads out.
- 1Billions on free apps
- 2Ads to the right people
- 3Marketers per ad shown
Free access is paid for entirely by marketers bidding for people's attention.
Brands and businesses
More than Meta.
InstagramWho owns it
- Mark Zuckerberg60.8%
- Entities affiliated with BlackRock7.2%
- Entities affiliated with FMR LLC6.1%
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Who it competes with
Key moments
- 2004Incorporated as Facebook
- 2012Initial public offering
- 2012Acquires Instagram
- 2014Completes Oculus acquisition
- 2014Acquires WhatsApp
Sources
Every number on this page comes from Meta's own reports.
Full profile
The rest of the story is in the app.
What Meta tracks21 metrics
Family daily active people
Ad impressions growth
Average price per ad growth
Results, quarter by quarterwith a chart
Revenue
Profit
Margin
Where the money comes from4 regions
United States and Canada
Asia-Pacific
Europe
The full timeline15 moments
2024
2025
2026
Meta vs Snapside by side
Revenue
Profit
People
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