Summary
Meta Platforms, Inc. (formerly Facebook, Inc.) filed its 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2018, highlighting robust revenue growth driven primarily by its advertising business. The company reported significant year-over-year increases in revenue and net income, underscoring the continued strength of its core platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Key investments are being directed towards expanding data center capacity, enhancing infrastructure, and pursuing long-term technology initiatives in areas such as AI and augmented/virtual reality. Despite strong financial performance, the company faces numerous risks and challenges. These include intense competition across social media and advertising, increasing regulatory scrutiny concerning data privacy and content, and the potential for user engagement shifts. The report also emphasizes the company's ongoing investments in safety and security measures. Investors should note the company's dual-class share structure which concentrates voting power, and the potential impact of legal and regulatory challenges on future operations and financial results.
Financial Highlights
51 data points| Revenue | $55.84B |
| Cost of Revenue | $9.36B |
| Gross Profit | $46.48B |
| R&D Expenses | $10.27B |
| Operating Expenses | $30.93B |
| Operating Income | $24.91B |
| Interest Expense | $9.00M |
| Net Income | $22.11B |
| EPS (Basic) | $7.65 |
| EPS (Diluted) | $7.57 |
| Shares Outstanding (Basic) | 2.89B |
| Shares Outstanding (Diluted) | 2.92B |
Key Highlights
- 1Revenue increased by 37% to $55.84 billion in 2018, driven by a 38% rise in advertising revenue.
- 2Net income grew by 39% to $22.11 billion, with diluted EPS of $7.57.
- 3Daily Active Users (DAUs) and Monthly Active Users (MAUs) grew by 9% year-over-year, reaching 1.52 billion and 2.32 billion respectively in December 2018.
- 4Mobile advertising revenue represented approximately 92% of total advertising revenue.
- 5The company significantly increased its capital expenditures, investing $13.92 billion in property and equipment.
- 6Meta Platforms' headcount grew by 42% to 35,587 employees by the end of 2018.
- 7Significant risks identified include intense competition, increasing regulatory scrutiny (especially around data privacy), and potential impacts of new technologies or platform changes on user engagement and advertising effectiveness.