Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) vs Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

Meta Platforms, Inc. is the world’s largest social media company, reaching nearly 4 billion monthly active users globally. Its core business, known as the Family of Apps, includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Users rely on these platforms for a wide range of activities, from staying connected with friends and following public figures to operating digital businesses at no cost. Meta monetizes its ecosystem by using customer data generated across its apps to sell advertising to digital marketers. Although the company has invested significantly in Reality Labs, that segment still represents only a small portion of Meta’s total revenue.

Microsoft Corp develops and licenses software for both consumer and enterprise markets. The company is best known for its Windows operating systems and Office productivity applications. Its business is organized into three broadly equal segments: Productivity and Business Processes, which includes legacy Microsoft Office, cloud-based Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype, LinkedIn, and Dynamics; Intelligent Cloud, which includes Azure infrastructure- and platform-as-a-service offerings, Windows Server, and SQL Server; and More Personal Computing, which includes Windows Client, Xbox, Bing search, display advertising, and Surface laptops, tablets, and desktop devices.