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Meta Platforms's finances, and what holding META would have done
Meta Platforms's revenue, profit, cash flow and debt from SEC filings, and what holding META would have done in the past.
Meta Platforms (META) was the number 7 US company by market value on 5 November 2026, at about $1.6 trillion, on the companiesmarketcap.com ranking. Its figures come from its SEC filings, read on 5 November 2026. A figure a filing lacks is marked as not reported.
What Meta Platforms sells
Meta owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. Almost all of its money comes from advertisers who pay to reach the people using them. It also sells Quest headsets and spends heavily on artificial intelligence and smart glasses.
The finances
- Revenue: $201 billion in the year to 31 December 2025 (10-K), up 22.2% from $165 billion. The 12 months to 30 September 2026: $242 billion. Double-digit growth is solid at this size.
- Net income: $60.5 billion in the year to 31 December 2025 (10-K), against $62.4 billion a year earlier; net margin 30.1%. The 12 months to 30 September 2026: $75.2 billion. About $30 of every $100 of sales stayed as profit, a very high margin.
- Free cash flow: $46.1 billion in the year to 31 December 2025 (10-K), which is $116 billion of operating cash flow minus $69.7 billion of capital spending. The 12 months to 30 September 2026: $28.6 billion. That is the cash left after running and equipping the business.
- Cash and debt: $11.2 billion in cash and $83.7 billion of debt (10-Q, 30 September 2026). Debt was several times its cash.
- Share count: 2.57 billion average diluted shares in the year to 31 December 2025 (10-K), down 1.5% from 2.61 billion. Fewer shares, usually from buybacks, make each one a bigger slice.
One thing to notice: Revenue grew 22% in 2025, but net income fell 3%, from $62.4 billion to $60.5 billion. Costs grew faster than sales.
What holding it would have done
From our free long-term checker, which looks back only:
- Past returns, price only: 1-year -3% (SPY +10%), 3-year +97% (SPY +74%), 5-year +87% (SPY +62%), 10-year +414% (SPY +248%). That 10-year gain is 17.8% a year, against 13.3% for SPY.
- Worst fall: -76.7%, from the close on 7 September 2021 to the low on 3 November 2022 (422 days). Getting back to that high took another 442 days, to 19 January 2024. SPY's worst fall was -34.1%.
- How often holding ended higher: 71% of 1-year holds (worst -73%) and 89% of 5-year holds (worst -50%).
- Monthly buying against a lump sum: over the past 10 years, $100 a month ($12,100 in total) would have grown to $31,611. The same money in on day one would have grown to $62,206; in SPY, monthly buying ends at $24,571 and the lump sum at $42,078.
Price only: no dividends, fees or tax. Daily closes, 10 November 2016 to 3 November 2026. SPY is an S&P 500 fund.
What this does and does not tell you
A company can earn more and still see its shares fall, because the price already reflects what people expect. So the filings and the long test answer different questions, and neither says what comes next.
This is one company over one stretch of history: an in-sample look at the past, not a promise. It is general information, not a call to buy or sell META, and it sets no price target.
More
The other 24 are in The 25 biggest US stocks. To check any other stock, use the long-term checker.
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