Meta Inc. (FB), proprietor of Fb, the world’s largest social community, gives a digital social media platform enabling billions of customers to attach with each other. Whereas Fb is finest generally known as a web site for associates and households to attach, it is also utilized by political organizations, small companies, and huge firms to succeed in a large viewers. Via its platforms and purposes, customers can share info, concepts, photographs, and movies. Along with its essential social networking web site, Meta additionally provides photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging apps Messenger and WhatsApp. It additionally provides augmented and digital actuality merchandise. Most of Meta’s income is generated by promoting promoting to entrepreneurs.
Meta was based in 2004 by 4 Harvard College college students, one among which is the corporate’s Chief Govt Officer (CEO), Mark Zuckerberg. The social networking web site expanded rapidly, rising to 1 billion customers by 2012. In February of that yr, Meta filed for an preliminary public providing (IPO), which valued the corporate at $102.4 billion.
Meta’s headquarters are positioned in Menlo Park, Calif. The corporate is classed as a member of the communications companies sector. It competes with different corporations that provide on-line and communication services. Its rivals embrace Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL) Google and YouTube, in addition to Apple Inc. (AAPL), and Twitter Inc. (TWTR). Meta generated internet earnings of $29.1 billion on $86.0 billion of income in FY 2020.
Key Takeaways
- Meta provides social media services to billions of customers worldwide, primarily people and households. It is also utilized by small and huge corporations, and political organizations.
- Its rivals embrace Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL) Google, Apple Inc. (AAPL), and Twitter Inc. (TWTR).
- Meta earned $29.1 billion in internet earnings on $86.0 billion of income in FY 2020.
- In early October, former Meta worker and whistleblower Frances Haugen testified earlier than Congress, alleging that Meta’s Fb platform is detrimental to the protection of kids and democracy.
- On October 28, 2021, Fb Inc. modified its identify to Meta Inc. It’ll change its ticker from FB to MRVS efficient Dec. 1, 2021.
Current Developments
- On Feb. 2, 2022 Fb reported earnings outcomes for This fall FY 2021 earnings. In a slide presentation of the outcomes, the corporate indicated that its every day lively customers (DAUs) declined barely in comparison with the earlier quarter. It marked the primary time within the firm’s historical past that DAUs have fallen.
- On Feb. 2, 2022 Fb projected in its fourth quarter earnings press launch that its income for Q1 FY 2022 could be within the vary of $27-29 billion. Whereas that represents between 3-11% year-over-year development, it additionally represents a decline from fourth quarter income of $33.7 billion. The corporate mentioned that its first quarter outcomes could be impacted by a number of headwinds, together with adjustments made by Apple to its iOS that power apps to acquire permission from iPhone customers earlier than they’re allowed to trace these customers for the aim of providing focused commercials. Many customers have since chosen to not be tracked, inflicting many advertisers to chop spending on promoting on social media platforms like Fb.
- On Oct. 28, 2021 Fb introduced it was altering its identify to Meta, with a purpose to signify its give attention to metaverse-related tasks.
- On Oct. 5, 2021, former Meta worker and whistleblower Frances Haugen testified for a number of hours earlier than the U.S. Senate subcommittee on Shopper Safety, Product Security, and Knowledge Safety. Haugen offered intensive documentation about Meta to the subcommittee and alleged that the corporate was extra involved about earnings than the protection and psychological well being of its customers. (See extra particulars in Q&A under).
- On Oct. 4, 2021, Meta filed a movement urging the U.S. District Courtroom for the District of Columbia to dismiss the FTC’s newest, revised antitrust lawsuit. Meta argues that the grievance lacks proof that the corporate violated any antitrust legal guidelines. The FCC’s authentic lawsuit, filed late final yr, was later thrown out by a decide. (See extra particulars in Q&A under).
What’s Occurring with the Fb (Meta) Antitrust Fits?
On Aug. 19, 2021, the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) filed a brand new antitrust lawsuit in opposition to Meta after its authentic one filed in December 2020 was thrown out in June 2021. In its revised lawsuit, the FTC alleges that Meta illegally sought to suppress competitors by buying potential rivals, together with messaging platform WhatsApp and photo-sharing app Instagram. The FTC is looking for to power Meta to unwind these acquisitions, and accuses Meta of utilizing its dominance in social media to forestall third-party app builders from accessing its platform. Meta filed a movement on Oct. 4, 2021, to dismiss the company’s newest lawsuit, arguing that it nonetheless lacked proof of anticompetitive habits.
What’s Occurring with Fb (Meta) and Newspapers?
On Feb. 24, 2021, the Australian authorities handed laws that successfully requires Meta’s Fb and Alphabet’s Google platforms to pay information publishers to be used of their content material on the tech giants’ platforms. The regulation forces the tech corporations and information publishers to undergo binding arbitration if they can not attain a deal on phrases of fee.
The Australian court docket choice is prompting different international locations to take related actions. European information publishers are lobbying the European Union (EU) to move related laws that might require tech giants to pay for his or her information content material at an agreed-on value. Information publishers desire a clause that forces main tech corporations enter into binding arbitration in the event that they fail to agree on phrases of fee for content material. They need the clause inserted in EU laws that was launched in December 2020. Referred to as the Digital Markets Act, the laws goals to curb the facility of big tech corporations.
What’s Occurring with the Fb (Meta) Whistleblower?
Whistleblower Frances Haugen was a Meta worker till Might 2021. She has offered a stream of firm paperwork to the U.S. Securities & Alternate Fee (SEC), Wall Avenue Journal, New York Instances, CBS “60 Minutes,” and different organizations to point out what she says are deep flaws on the big social community. That features not solely the Fb platform, but in addition Meta’s smaller platforms together with Instagram, which is closely utilized by teenagers. In her information interviews and Congressional testimony, Haugen has criticized the corporate’s give attention to “indignant, polarizing divisive content material” as a means to spice up engagement and earnings. She says the platform’s flaws are detrimental to the protection of kids and democracy.
Haugen joined the corporate in June 2019 and served on the Civic Integrity crew, which targeted on the platform’s affect on world elections. She says she left the corporate earlier this yr as a result of she grew to become annoyed with the corporate’s lack of willingness to simply accept initiatives that might deal with the platform’s flaws and enhance the protection of the platform’s customers.
In spring 2021, Haugen contacted John Tye, the founding father of authorized nonprofit group Whistleblower Assist. She requested him about acquiring authorized safety and the very best plan of action for making public 1000’s of pages of inner Meta paperwork. Tye agreed to signify her and Haugen filed for authorized whistleblower safety with the Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC). Haugen’s identification was revealed for the primary time on Oct. 3, 2021 in an interview on 60 Minutes. Two days later she testified extensively earlier than Congress.
Has FB Ever Break up its Inventory?
Does FB Pay a Dividend?
No, it doesn’t pay a dividend.
How Many Shares of FB Inventory Are There?
Meta has a twin class construction.
As of July 23, 2021, Fb had 2,383,812,263 shares of sophistication A standard inventory excellent. The inventory represents one vote per share and trades underneath the ticker “FB” on the Nasdaq International Choose Market.
As of July 23, 2021, Fb had 435,632,238 shares of sophistication B widespread inventory excellent. The category B inventory represents 10 votes per share and is owned by Zuckerberg, administration, and administrators. This provides Zuckerberg and his administration efficient management of the corporate.
When Was Fb (Meta) Based?
Meta was based in 2004. Its 4 co-founders, Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, had been college students at Harvard College on the time.
Who’s Fb (Meta)’s CEO?
Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is Meta’s CEO and chairman. He based Meta with three different classmates whereas a scholar at Harvard College. He’s ranked third on the Forbes 400 listing of the richest People with a internet value of $116.2 billion, as of Oct. 13, 2021.
How Many Customers Does Fb Have?
As of June 30, 2021, Fb’s month-to-month lively customers (MAUs) had been 2.9 billion. Meta defines an MAU as a registered and logged-in Fb person who visited the Fb platform or used its Messenger utility inside the previous 30 days as of the date of measurement. Meta makes use of MAUs to gauge the dimensions of its world lively person group.
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