Meta Platforms, Inc. is a US-based multinational technology company and 1 of the Big 5 US tech companies. It is a member of the FAANG group holding the first position with its original name, Facebook.
Meta Platforms, Inc life began in 2004 as a digital “face book” for Harvard students. The company was founded by Mark Zuckerburg and a group of friends but now only Zuckerburg remains. The company quickly grew and expanded into other universities and then opened itself to the public in 2006. As of 2006, anyone over the age of 13 can be a Facebook user which is the company’s primary source of income. As of 2022, the company claimed more than 2.9 billion monthly active Facebook users.
Facebook, Inc filed for its IPO on January 1st 2012. The prospectus stated the company was seeking to raise $5 billion but it got so much more. The day before the IPO execs announced it would sell 25% more stock than it had previously stated because of the high demand. The company wound up raising more than $16 billion making it the 3rd largest IPO in history at the time.
The massive IPO valuation earned Facebook a spot in the S&P 500 in the first year of its public life. Although its valuation has deteriorated in the wake of scandal and consumer trends within social media, early investors were treated to gains in excess of 1000% at the peak of the stock run. Mark Zuckerburg retained 22% ownership in the company following the IPO, and 57% of the voting rights. As of 2022, those holdings were down to about 14% of the company and 54% of the voting rights.
Over the years, Facebook acquired a large number of apps and other businesses that include but are not limited to Instagram and WhatsApp. The company changed its name to Meta Platforms DBA Meta in 2021 to reflect its business and mission better. The new name describes the metaverse and refers to the seamless social interaction provided by Meta’s social media application universe.
Today, Meta develops digital applications that allow people to connect with family, friends, businesses, and merchants through Internet connections. Applications are available for mobile, PC, VR, and smart homes.
The company’s primary operating segment is the Family of Apps. The family of Apps includes Facebook and all the other digital applications. This segment produces virtually all of the revenue which is in turn 97% advertising oriented. The other operating segment is Reality Labs. Reality Labs develops and markets a line of virtual and augmented-reality products.
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