Meta Platforms was formerly called Facebook, Inc. before adopting its current name in 2021.
Facebook, Inc. announced its rebranding as Meta Platforms, Inc. on 28 October 2021. The change separated the corporate identity from Facebook, the social-networking service, and emphasized the company’s broader interest in virtual and augmented reality, social platforms, and the metaverse.
The company still operates Facebook, alongside Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Those products remain important parts of Meta’s business, so the rebrand did not mean that the Facebook service itself disappeared or changed ownership.
Meta Platforms trades on Nasdaq under the ticker META. A frequent mix-up is calling the parent company Facebook after 2021; Facebook is now one of Meta’s major products, while Meta Platforms is the corporate name.