Facebook is a ubiquitous social media platform. More than 2 billion people log into their Facebook accounts each day, and more than 3 billion actively use the platform every month, making it the biggest social media site in the world. Even more people log into the company's family of social platforms each month, which includes Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp.
A captive audience provides Facebook with a treasure trove of data that it can use to sell advertising. It generates billions of dollars in ad sales each year.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
As a Facebook user, you might wonder how to invest in the company. Here's a step-by-step guide on investing in Facebook stock and some factors to consider before investing in the technology stock.
Should I invest in Meta Platforms?
Before investing in Facebook's parent company's stock, you need to determine whether Meta Platforms shares are a good investment. Here are some factors to consider before investing in Meta stock.
Profitability
Meta Platforms is an immensely profitable company. The social media giant reported $37.7 billion in net income in Q3 of 2025. That was up roughly 64% from the previous year in the same time frame, as Meta focused on increasing revenue and keeping a lid on costs to improve profitability.
The company behind Facebook is also free cash flow-positive. Meta generated $29.5 billion in free cash flow by Q3 of 2025 after funding $50 billion in capital expenses. That enabled the technology giant to return cash to investors by repurchasing shares ($3.16 billion) and paying dividends ($1.33 billion) while maintaining a cash-rich balance sheet ($44.45 billion as of September 30, 2025, in cash, equivalents, and marketable securities against $28.8 billion of long-term debt).
Meta is using its strong cash flow to invest heavily in AI. The company planned to boost its capital spending to the tune of $600 billion in 2026 on things like data center projects and other investments in generative AI, and to expand its core business.
Cash Flow
Meta Platforms' valuation
Here's a snapshot of Meta Platform's valuation:
As that chart shows, Meta traded at about 26 times its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio as of late 2025. For comparison, the S&P 500 traded at a forward P/E ratio of more than 25 times. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq-100 traded at more than 25 times its forward P/E. These valuation metrics suggest Meta Platforms' stock trades at a slight premium to the broader market (S&P 500) and is a little cheaper than the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Does Meta Platforms pay a dividend?
Facebook's parent Meta Platforms initiated its first dividend payment in early 2024. The company increased the payment by 5% one year later. Given the company's growing revenue and cash flow, it could continue to increase its dividend in the future.
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The bottom line on investing in Meta Platforms stock
Facebook is the most popular social media platform on the planet. Facebook's parent company, Meta, is cashing in on all those users by generating billions of dollars in advertising revenue each year, giving it money to invest in expanding into new areas, including AI.
Those investments could drive significant earnings and profit growth in the future. That makes Meta Platforms look like a potentially exciting stock to own for the long term.
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