A lot has changed for Facebook since its initial public offering (IPO) in May 2012 — including the corporate name, which was changed to Meta Platforms four years ago. If you had invested in the stock when it went public, your money would have grown quite a bit.
At the time of its IPO, Facebook was still essentially a Silicon Valley startup. The platform itself was only 8 years old, having been launched at Harvard University in 2004 by co-founders Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Eduardo Saverin.
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Zuckerberg is now the company’s CEO and one of the world’s richest people. Meanwhile, Meta has grown into a corporate powerhouse with a market cap of about $1.75 trillion, ranking it as the sixth-biggest company in the world.
So was Meta a good investment at its IPO, and how much would that investment be worth now?
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What’s Your Investment Worth?
If you had invested $100 in Facebook when it debuted on the Nasdaq in 2012, you could now cash that investment in for more than $1,800. Here’s a breakdown of how the stock has performed since the IPO:
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2012 IPO price: $38
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No. of shares with a $100 investment: 2.6
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Closing price on June 17, 2025: $697.23
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Total return: 1,735%
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Current value: $1,812.80
Keep in mind that the above return is based only on stock valuation and does not include dividends paid to shareholders, so your actual profit could be a lot bigger. Meta has not announced a stock split since its IPO.
The company’s shares continue to perform well in 2025 despite the volatile stock market. Its stock is up about 16% year to date, putting it well ahead of the S&P 500 (up about 2%) and Dow (down slightly).
The main driver of Meta’s success has been its flagship Facebook platform, which ranks as the world’s biggest social media site with more than 3 billion monthly active users, according to DemandSage. Other platforms under Meta’s umbrella include Instagram, Messenger, Threads and WhatsApp.
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Overcoming Adversity
Like most companies, Meta has faced its share of ups and downs.
As The Motley Fool reported, the company “botched” its IPO as both regulators and investors took legal action against it and its IPO underwriter due to a poor initial performance that saw the stock fall to below $20 a share. The company eventually righted the ship and began to see both its revenue and stock price move higher.
Another misstep came in 2021, when Facebook shifted its focus to building the metaverse and changed the official corporate name to Meta Platforms. That turned out to be a money-losing endeavor, U.S. News reported. Meta has since turned its attention back to the social medial businesses.
What Does the Future Look Like?
This year, Meta’s stock has gotten a boost from plans to launch ads on its WhatsApp platform, Investor’s Business Daily reported. Like Facebook, WhatsApp has more than 3 billion monthly active users, making it a potentially lucrative ad revenue generator like Facebook and Instagram. Advertising drives about 98% of Meta’s total revenue, according to Investor’s Business Daily.
Additionally, the stock is currently trading at just under $700, and analysts have an average price target of nearly $720, indicating it has some room to grow.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Here’s How Much a $100 Investment in Facebook in 2012 Is Worth Today
