SuperworthMeta Platforms, Inc. META
- Market cap
- $1.8T
- PE
- 27.2×
- 10y median 28.5×
- Forward PE
- Price to sales
- 8.1×
- EV/EBIT
- 20.8×
- Revenue, 12 months
- $228.2B
- +28% on a year ago
- Net margin
- 29.8%
- Free cash flow yield
- 2.2%
Meta's sales nearly doubled. Its cash did not.
A normal multiple of earnings, a rare one of cash, and a bet that the build-out pays
Revenue nearly doubled
From 127 billion to 228 billion dollars a year in three years, and growth sped up to 27.7 percent over the last year. The question is how much of that new revenue reaches shareholders as cash.
Margins peaked and rolled over
Operating margin reached 44 percent in mid 2025 and is 38 now, so costs have grown faster than sales. Q2 2026 alone carried 2.4 billion dollars of legal charges.
Earnings grew, then stalled
Earnings per share went from 11.33 to 26.54 dollars in three years, but are down 3.9 percent from a year ago. One quarter explains the dip: a one-off tax charge cut Q3 2025 to 1.05 a share. The PE uses this reported figure, and that quarter drops out of it when Q3 2026 reports on Oct 28.
Cash flow barely moved
Free cash flow is 41 billion dollars over the last year, about where it was three years ago. The stock's market value equals about 46 years of that cash, against a ten year median of 31. Cash from the business rose, but spending on data centers rose faster.
Capital spending nearly doubled in a year
Capital spending (capex), mostly data centers and servers, was 30.1 billion dollars in Q2 2026, nearly twice a year earlier, and it used up almost all of that quarter's cash. Meta plans 130 to 145 billion this year. A venture with BlackRock moves an El Paso data center off its balance sheet in exchange for long-term lease payments.
The market pays a normal multiple anyway
The price is up 28.5 percent in six months, yet the PE is about 28, right on its three year median of 27.5. Investors pay an ordinary multiple of earnings and a rare one of cash, a bet that the build-out pays back. Without last year's one-off tax charge, the PE would be lower.
The price assumes the spending pays back
At today's price, consensus earnings put Meta at about 24 times the next twelve months, with revenue seen up about 22 percent and Meta One subscriptions adding a line outside ads. Q3 reports Oct 28 and carries a roughly 10 billion dollar legal charge. The test is whether the spending turns back into cash, and each capex update is where it shows.
What has happened lately
- Meta, Meta launches Meta One subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Meta AIMeta's first broad consumer and creator subscription, priced from $2.99 to $499 a month, adds a revenue line outside advertising against AI spending.
- Meta, Meta settles state attorneys general teen-harm case for up to $18 billion over 10 yearsMeta expects a roughly $10 billion legal charge in Q3 and annual payments over a decade, plus product limits for teen users.
- Meta, Meta Q2 2026: revenue up 28% to $60.8 billion, capex guidance narrowed to $130-145 billionQuarterly capex of $31.1 billion cut free cash flow to $784 million, and EPS of $6.18 included $2.4 billion of legal charges.
- Meta, Meta and BlackRock form venture to build a $14 billion El Paso data centerMeta keeps a 20% stake and leases the 1GW site, moving part of the AI build-out off its balance sheet while adding long-term lease obligations.
Headlines link to the original source.
Charts
Financials
| Income statement | Q4 FY23 | Q1 FY24 | Q2 FY24 | Q3 FY24 | Q4 FY24 | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40.1B | $36.5B | $39.1B | $40.6B | $48.4B+21% | $42.3B+16% | $47.5B+22% | $51.2B+26% | $59.9B+24% | $56.3B+33% | $60.8B+28% | |
| Cost of revenue | $7.7B | $6.6B | $7.3B | $7.4B | $8.8B+15% | $7.6B+14% | $8.5B+16% | $9.2B+25% | $10.9B+23% | $10.2B+35% | $11.3B+33% |
| Gross profit | $32.4B | $29.8B | $31.8B | $33.2B | $39.5B+22% | $34.7B+17% | $39B+23% | $42B+27% | $49B+24% | $46.1B+33% | $49.5B+27% |
| R&D | $10.5B | $10B | $10.5B | $11.2B | $12.2B+16% | $12.2B+22% | $12.9B+23% | $15.1B+36% | $17.1B+41% | $17.7B+46% | $21.7B+67% |
| SG&A | $5.5B | $6B | $6.4B | $4.7B | $4B−27% | $5B−16% | $5.6B−12% | $6.4B+36% | $7.1B+78% | $5.5B+10% | $9B+60% |
| $16.4B | $13.8B | $14.8B | $17.4B | $23.4B+43% | $17.6B+27% | $20.4B+38% | $20.5B+18% | $24.7B+6% | $22.9B+30% | $18.8B−8% | |
| Interest expense | $136M | $127M | $128M | $208M | $251M+85% | $240M+89% | $241M+88% | $227M+9% | $708M+182% | $562M+134% | $783M+225% |
| Pre-tax income | $16.8B | $14.2B | $15.1B | $17.8B | $23.6B+40% | $18.4B+30% | $20.5B+36% | $21.7B+22% | $25.4B+8% | $21.8B+18% | $18.8B−9% |
| $2.8B | $1.8B | $1.6B | $2.1B | $2.7B−3% | $1.7B−4% | $2.2B+34% | $19B+788% | $2.6B−5% | −$5B | $2.9B+32% | |
| Net income | $14B | $12.4B | $13.5B | $15.7B | $20.8B+49% | $16.6B+35% | $18.3B+36% | $2.7B−83% | $22.8B+9% | $26.8B+61% | $15.8B−14% |
| $5.33 | $4.71 | $5.16 | $6.03 | $8.02+51% | $6.43+37% | $7.14+38% | $1.05−83% | $8.87+11% | $10.44+62% | $6.18−13% | |
| 2.6B | 2.6B | 2.6B | 2.6B | 2.6B−1% | 2.6B−1% | 2.6B−2% | 2.6B−1% | 2.6B−2% | 2.6B−1% | 2.6B−0% |
From each company's 10-Q and 10-K filings. Fiscal years are four fiscal quarters added up; balance sheet lines are as of the period's end. Growth is on the same period a year earlier.
Estimates
Next earnings report: .
Analyst consensus for the next eight quarters, with the range from the lowest to the highest estimate, is part of Superworth Pro.
Peers
Companies in Communication Services within ten times Meta Platforms's size, closest in size first.
| Company | Market cap | PE | Its 10y median PE | Fwd PE | P/S | Revenue growth | Net margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| METAMeta Platforms, Inc. | $1.8T | 27.2× | 28.5× | 8.1× | +28% | 29.8% | |
| GOOGAlphabet Inc. | $4.2T | 17.4× | 28.1× | 9.5× | +20% | 54.8% | |
| NFLXNetflix, Inc. | $290.2B | 21.9× | 59.5× | 6.0× | +16% | 28.2% | |
| VZVerizon Communications Inc. | $190.2B | 11.9× | 11.9× | 1.4× | +1% | 11.6% | |
| Peer median | $290.2B | 17.4× | 28.1× | 6.0× | +16% | 28.2% |
About
- Chief executive
- Mark Zuckerberg, since 2004FounderFounded Facebook in 2004, also chair. Source
- Industry
- Internet Content & Information
- Sector
- Communication Services
Valuation data, not investment advice. Prices as of .