Introduction
You will analyze three strategic moves Meta has made using different Corporate Performance Management (CPM) tools.
This preparation guide tells you exactly which document and which part of it contains the data you need. You still have to decide which figures matter, how to combine them, and what they mean.
We work with Q2 2026 (quarter ended 30 June 2026, reported 29 July 2026) as the current quarter and FY 2025 as the last completed fiscal year. Please use these two periods consistently so that group results are comparable.
Sources
Work through the sources before the session and extract the relevant figures per task. Everything except the two clearly marked exceptions comes from documents Meta itself published.
Meta Documents
| # | Document | Use it for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Press release Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results (29 Jul 2026) | All current quarterly figures: revenue, segment results, costs, capex, DAP, guidance | HTML · PDF |
| D2 | Earnings Presentation Q2 2026 (slide deck) | Multi-quarter charts: revenue by geography, capex, DAP, ARPP, ad impressions & price per ad | |
| D3 | Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript | Management commentary: AI strategy, user milestones, Reality Labs outlook, guidance rationale | |
| D4 | Press release Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results (28 Jan 2026) | Full-year 2025 vs. 2024 figures, December 2025 DAP, original 2026 guidance | HTML · SEC |
| D5 | Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 | Three-year comparisons (2023–2025), risk factors, segment note, business description | SEC |
| D6 | Press release Meta Reports First Quarter 2026 Results (29 Apr 2026) | Q1 2026 figures, needed only if you want a half-year 2026 view |
How the press releases are structured (D1, D4, D6, identical layout):
- Financial Highlights: revenue, costs and expenses, income from operations, operating margin, net income, EPS
- Operational and Other Financial Highlights: DAP, ad impressions, average price per ad, headcount, capital expenditures, free cash flow, cash position
- CFO Outlook Commentary: revenue guidance for the next quarter, full-year expense and capex guidance
- Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income: the expense line items (cost of revenue, R&D, marketing & sales, G&A)
- Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and Statements of Cash Flows
- Segment Results: Family of Apps and Reality Labs, revenue and income/(loss) from operations, current quarter and prior-year quarter (and full year in D4)
- Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Results
Sections 1, 3 and 6 provide almost everything you need.
Undisclosed Data
Some figures the tasks need are deliberately not in any Meta filing. Meta stopped reporting per-app user numbers with the Q4 2018 results and has never reported revenue per app. Do not search the reports for them, but use the sources below, and cite them as what they are: third-party estimates or one-off management statements, not audited figures.
| Missing figure | Possible sources |
|---|---|
| Instagram monthly active users | 3 billion, announced by Mark Zuckerberg and Adam Mosseri on 24 Sep 2025 (CNBC, TechCrunch) |
| Instagram daily active users | D3 transcript, opening remarks |
| WhatsApp monthly active users | Q1 2025 earnings call (30 Apr 2025), Reuters via Yahoo Finance |
| Instagram / WhatsApp revenue | Not disclosed. External estimate: eMarketer: Facebook still generates most of Meta’s ad revenues, as Instagram drives growth; or derive a range yourself from Family of Apps revenue (D1, Segment Results) and the per-app user share. If you derive it, state your allocation key explicitly. |
| Instagram acquisition price (2012) | ~$1bn announced; part cash, part stock (Meta’s list of acquisitions) |
| WhatsApp acquisition price (2014) | $19bn announced, ~$21.8bn at closing because Facebook’s share price had risen in the meantime (Forbes). Which number you use changes your ROI. Say which one you chose and why. |
| A discount rate for the NPV | Not disclosed by any company. Derive or assume one (e.g. a WACC in the 8–10% range for large-cap tech) and state the assumption. |
- ARPP is not ARPU per app. The ARPP slide in D2 is Family of Apps revenue divided by Family daily active people. Someone using Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp counts once. If you multiply ARPP by a single app’s user count, you double-count and overstate that app’s revenue by a wide margin. Use it as an upper bound and say so.
- Quarterly vs. annual. Revenue, capex, ARPP and segment results in D1 and D2 are quarterly. The guidance in CFO Outlook Commentary is annual. Do not mix them in one calculation without annualizing explicitly.
Tasks
Acquisitions & ROI Analysis
Pick one acquisition (Instagram, 2012, or WhatsApp, 2014) and assess whether it paid off.
Where to find what:
| You need | Document | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition price and what was actually paid | - | See Undisclosed Data below |
| Meta’s total revenue and Family of Apps revenue today | D1 | Second Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights and Segment Results |
| Revenue per user (the monetization rate) | D2 | Slide Family Average Revenue per Person (ARPP) |
| Revenue per user by region | D2 | Slides Revenue by User Geography and Advertising Revenue by User Geography |
| Total user base | D1 | Operational and Other Financial Highlights |
| User numbers for the individual app | D3 | Zuckerberg’s opening remarks (first page, look for per-app milestones) |
| Growth rates for a multi-year projection | D2, D4, D5 | D2 shows the multi-quarter revenue charts; D4 shows FY 2025 vs. FY 2024; D5 shows 2023–2025 |
Further, think about:
- How would you estimate value if specific revenue isn’t disclosed separately?
- What assumptions do you need to make for a multi-year projection?
- How do you account for indirect strategic benefits?
- What makes an acquisition “successful” from a performance management perspective?
AI/AGI Investment
Assess whether Meta’s AI investments show measurable momentum.
Where to find what:
| You need | Document | Exact location |
|---|---|---|
| How much Meta is spending (current quarter) | D1 | Operational and Other Financial Highlights |
| Capex trend over the recent quarters | D2 | Slide Capital Expenditures |
| Capex and R&D for the full years 2023, 2024, 2025 | D5 | Results of Operations; Research and development |
| R&D as a share of revenue | D2 | Expenses as a Percentage of Revenue |
| Forward-looking spend | D1 | CFO Outlook Commentary |
| Evidence that the spending works | D3 | Susan Li’s (CFO) section; Zuckerberg’s opening remarks |
| Non-financial performance | D1 | Operational and Other Financial Highlights |
Further, think about:
- Which metrics best indicate whether AI investments are “working”?
- How do you distinguish between short-term costs and long-term strategic positioning?
- What evidence would convince you these investments are paying off?
- How long should you wait before judging ROI on this type of investment?
Reality Labs & Break-Even
Estimate what it would take for the Reality Labs segment to reach break-even.
Where to find what:
| You need | Document | Exact location |
|---|---|---|
| Reality Labs revenue and operating loss, Q2 2026 vs. Q2 2025 | D1 | Table Segment Results, the “Reality Labs” rows under Revenue and under Income (loss) from operations |
| The same figures for Q1 2026 | D6 | Table Segment Results |
| Full-year 2025 and 2024 | D4 | Table Segment Results (full-year columns) |
| Three-year history 2023–2025 | D5 | Segment information note in the financial statements (statements start p. 82) |
| What drives the little revenue there is | D3 | Susan Li’s segment commentary on Reality Labs; Zuckerberg on the glasses product line |
| Management’s expectations and timeline | D3 | Q&A section; plus D1, CFO Outlook Commentary |
| Risks and stated uncertainty | D5 | Item 1A Risk Factors, the passages on Reality Labs / metaverse investments |
Further, think about:
- Is break-even the right way to evaluate a “moonshot” investment?
- What’s more realistic to quickly achieve break-even: dramatic revenue increase or significant cost reduction?
- How do you balance long-term strategic value against short-term financial losses?
Balanced Scorecard
Gather evidence for each BSC perspective from the documents you have already opened. You do not need new sources.
| Perspective | Document | Exact location |
|---|---|---|
| Financial | D1 | Financial Highlights and Segment Results |
| Customer | D1, D2, D3 | DAP in Operational Highlights; Family DAP and Family ARPP; per-app milestones in Zuckerberg’s opening remarks |
| Internal process | D3, D1 | CFO section on ad performance, ranking and infrastructure; Operational Highlights |
| Learning & growth | D4, D5, D1 | R&D Expense; Operational Highlights |
Further, think about:
- Which perspectives show strength and which show weakness?
- How should different perspectives be weighted given Meta’s strategy?
- What does “good performance” mean for a company making multi-billion dollar long-term bets?
- How would you use this BSC to guide future resource allocation decisions?
Final Notes
Read critically:
- Management emphasizes positives. Look for what’s not said
- Compare trends over time, not just absolute numbers
- Note which metrics management chooses to highlight
Document your approach:
- Track which sources you used for which data points (use the D1–D6 labels)
- Be ready to explain your assumptions and estimations
- Note what’s disclosed vs. what you had to estimate
It is not about perfection:
This is real-world analysis with real-world constraints. You won’t find perfect data for everything. Part of the learning is determining:
- What’s good enough to make a reasonable analysis
- What assumptions are justified
- How to communicate uncertainty in your findings
- How to make informed judgments despite incomplete information
The goal of the case study is not finding “the right answer”. Instead you should demonstrate sound analytical thinking and appropriate use of CPM tools.