It's been a wonderful time to be a shareholder in Meta Platforms (META +1.81%). After hitting a low around the start of November 2022, the business has seen its shares skyrocket nearly fivefold (as of Feb. 20). Investor enthusiasm is through the roof.
Despite this monster performance, the FAANG stock, which is near its all-time highs, trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 23.5 right now. This might prompt you to rush to buy shares.
But before you do, here are three things you must know about this dominant tech giant.
Massive, but growing
Meta Platforms owns and operates some of the most popular social media services on the face of the planet.
Between its various platforms -- like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads -- the business counted a whopping 4 billion monthly active users (MAUs) as of the end of last year. This means that almost half of the world's 8.1 billion people interact with a Meta digital property once a month. That's hard to wrap your head around.
While it's reasonable to assume the company can't get any larger, it's worth pointing out that MAUs were up 6% year over year in the fourth quarter. Because the U.S., Canada, and European markets are much more mature, Meta is finding success posting better growth in other geographies, like the Asia-Pacific region.
This massive scale has resulted in powerful network effects. The more users on a particular social media platform, the more valuable it is to users. Anyone can start a new app tomorrow, but it would be almost impossible to expand the way Meta's services have, which protects its competitive standing.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
Digital advertising is key
Providing free services to billions of users means that Meta, unsurprisingly, is a digital advertising powerhouse. Of the $135 billion in revenue it brought in in 2023, 98% came from selling ads. This puts it behind Alphabet in the global rankings when it comes to digital ad revenue.
Because of the valuable data Meta is able to extract from its gigantic user base, it's no wonder that businesses of all sizes find it extremely effective to target audiences using the company's platforms. The ongoing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) features will only improve this for marketers.
The downside is that the digital advertising market has shown itself to be somewhat cyclical. When interest rates rise, inflationary pressures persist, consumer spending gets pressured, and everyone is uncertain where the economy is headed, it makes sense that ad spending will be among the first thing that executives cut. Meta reported a 1% decline in revenue in 2022 thanks to these headwinds. However, things picked up in a huge way last year: Sales jumped 16%.
It also helps that digital ad revenue drove a fantastic 54% operating margin for the family of apps segment in Q4. Add this to Meta's net cash position of $47 billion, and there should be zero concern about the business being able to navigate any unfavorable macro conditions.
Meta's metaverse ambitions
Love him or hate him, credit goes to Meta's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, for building one of the world's most valuable and dominant enterprises in just two decades. By being a forward-thinking innovator, he's always trying to position the business for whatever tech shifts that might come.
Zuckerberg thinks that next shift could be the metaverse. As a result, he's focused heavily on creating new hardware and software products in the hopes of attracting 1 billion users to spend and interact in virtual worlds.
He's putting his money where his mouth is. Meta's Reality Labs division posted an operating loss of $16 billion in 2023, and more losses are expected. And it doesn't make much money, producing $4 billion in revenue combined in the last two years.
But given a proven track record of success, as well as vast financial resources from the company's thriving social media apps, investors should doubt Zuckerberg at their own risk.
If you're looking to scoop up shares of Meta, you now know three very important aspects of the business that can lead to a more informed decision.
