How to Buy Meta (Formerly Facebook) Stock

SHORT ANSWER: You can buy Meta stock with Interactive Brokers as your online broker.

Have you considered investing in Meta, the tech giant formerly known as Facebook? With its dominant presence in the social media and tech industry, Meta stock can be a lucrative addition to your investment portfolio. Before you invest, it's vital to be well-informed about the buying process, market trends and potential risks involved. This guide walks you through the essential steps and considerations when purchasing Meta stock.

How to Purchase Facebook

Facebook trades on NASDAQ and it is a part of the S&P 500 Index and most of the major technology ETFs. If you want to buy the individual stock, here are some guidelines:

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If you're in search of a reliable broker to purchase Meta stock, we have a list available for you to select and compare from.

Meta at a Glance

Currently, Meta has over 3.065 billion active users and to reach this number, it was necessary to add new features. Here are some of Facebook’s major features:

• Profile: Allows you to build a personal account, attach a profile photo etc.
• Friends: Allows users to connect with other users.
• The Wall: It was available since its starting point and in the beginning it allowed users to post text only. In 2007, it became possible to attach pictures and videos.
• Personal messaging: One of the key features, it allows you to message your Facebook friends.  
• Notes: Created for writing blogs.
• News Feed: Shows updates of your friends’ activity and news stories from pages you like.
• Like button: Allows users to show approval for certain content.
• Games: You can play various games on Facebook.
• Timeline: Introduced to replace the Wall.
• Graph Search: Allows you to search for specific things about your friends.

Acquisitions also contributed to Facebook’s success:

• WhatsApp: An instant messaging service acquired in 2014 for $19 billion.
• Oculus VR: A virtual reality company, acquired in 2014 for $2 billion.
• Instagram: Offers social networking and picture-sharing service. It was acquired in 2012 for $1 billion.
• LiveRail: Video startup, acquired in 2014 for $500 million.
• Atlas: A digital media measurement platform acquired in 2013 for $100 million.

History of Meta (Formerly Facebook)

The success story started in a dorm at Harvard University in 2004. The company that we knew as Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes for their fellow Harvard students. They named it “The Facebook.” From its Harvard beginnings, it spread to the other U.S. universities and in 2005, it began to spread worldwide. Today, Facebook is known as Meta.

It took only 3 years for Facebook to reach 100 million users and since then it managed to show user growth every quarter. In 2012, we witnessed two important events for Facebook:

• It raised $16 billion through its IPO.
• It became the first social network with 1 billion users.
• The IPO price reached $38 per share, which set the valuation of the company at $104 billion.

The first year of trading was not great for Meta. Its stock lost more than 50 percent of its initial valuation and it took more than a year to return above $100 billion. In 2015, it was already above $250 billion and in 2017, it crossed the $500 billion mark. In 2021, Meta closed at $1.08 trillion.

Why Purchase Meta Stock?

If you're still undecided about purchasing Meta stock, let's take a look at the pros and cons.

Pros of purchasing the stock:

• The company grew sales from $119 billion in 2022 to $134 billion in 2023.
• Net income increased tremendously, from $23.2 billion in 2022 to $39.098 billion in 2023.
• Managed to grow users each quarter since 2008 and it currently has more than 3 billion users.
• Investing in virtual reality, which could be the next big thing in the tech space (Oculus VR).
• Dominates social networking with Facebook.com, Instagram.com, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

Cons of purchasing the stock:

• Concerns that it might be slowing down.
• Future profitability could be lower due to the company’s attempts to invest in content moderation to fight bad content like hate speech and nudity.
• Meta plans to shift News Feed to interaction with friends instead of posts from brands and organizations.
• Concerns about the company’s handling of users’ privacy.

Future Outlook

Analysts predict that Meta stock (formerly Facebook) will continue to grow in the coming years. The company's stock is expected to reach a price target of $600 per share by the year 2025, representing a significant increase from its current price. With the continued success of its advertising business and the development of new technologies such as virtual reality and the metaverse, Meta is poised for strong growth in the future.

Final Thoughts on Buying Meta Stock

The decision to buy Facebook stock can be a wise investment choice if you're looking to capitalize on the social media giant's strong user base, innovative technologies and solid financial performance. With its continued growth in advertising revenue and expansion into new markets, Facebook remains a dominant player in the digital advertising space.

As always, it is important to conduct thorough research, consider your own financial goals and risk tolerance and seek advice from a financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Ultimately, investing in Facebook stock could potentially offer long-term growth opportunities if you're looking to diversify your portfolio and capitalize on the ever-evolving world of technology and social media.

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