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Meta: When It All Matters

From “Moving The Goal Posts” (November 2022):

“If we assume FRL [Reality Labs] is worth negative $100 billion (rough guesstimate of cumulative losses over the next five years, with zero value created as a result), that leaves ~$315 billion for FOA [Family Of Apps]. That business will generate ~$113 billion in FY22 revenues, with TTM EBIT in Q3 FY22 of ~$47.9 billion… If you believe the core business can grow revenues and profitability over time, as I do, you would have to do some real gymnastics to argue FOA (as a standalone company) isn’t worth significantly more than its implied value. The answer to that question ultimately comes down to your views on the sustainability of the FOA user base (DAU’s / engagement) and Meta’s ability to effectively monetize that engagement (ATT headwinds). While much ink has been spilled about Apple killing Meta, I think that characterization is really tough to defend when put into numbers. ATT has clearly impacted Meta (and others) – but the ~$10 billion hit is off a ~$115 billion revenue base. When you compare Meta’s revenue growth trends over the past four or five quarters relative to a few of its peers – some of which are greatly affected by ATT and some of which are not – it tells a different story than what many seem to believe is true.”

Let’s revisit those two questions: the sustainability of the FOA user base and Meta’s ability to effectively monetize engagement. On the first point, Meta crossed a significant milestone in Q1 FY23: more than three billion people around the world now use at least one of Meta’s services on a daily basis (de-duplicated). The growth and sustainability of the FOA user base, most notably at Facebook (now at >2 billion DAU’s), has been a frequent topic of concern in the investment community over the past 5+ years; the reported results continue to suggest that these fears are misguided. (I think a plausible explanation for that discrepancy may be that the people making these predictions are not representative of the broader population; said differently, they overweight views informed by their personal experience.)

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Continued DAP growth, along with tailwinds from internal investments behind AI recommended content and new formats like Reels, is driving higher engagement; as CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted on the call, time spent on Instagram has increased by more than 20% since the launch of Reels (as a reminder, management noted on the Q3 FY22 call that aggregate time spent on Instagram and Facebook was increasing YoY in the U.S. and globally).

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Meta: When It All Matters
From “Moving The Goal Posts” (November 2022): “If we assume FRL [Reality Labs] is worth negative $100 billion (rough guesstimate of cumulative losses over the next five years, with zero value created as a result), that leaves ~$315 billion for FOA [Family Of Apps]. That business will generate ~$113 billion in FY22 revenues, with TTM EBIT in Q3 FY22 of ~$47.9 billion…

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