Facebook briefly exceeded a $1 trillion market capitalization in August 2021.
The company crossed the threshold on August 5, 2021, as its shares rose following a federal court’s dismissal of an antitrust complaint brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Facebook had already become one of the world’s most valuable companies through its social network and ownership of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
Facebook’s valuation was based on the market price of its publicly traded shares multiplied by the number of shares outstanding. That figure can move above or below a round-number milestone during ordinary trading, which is why descriptions of the achievement often use the word “briefly.”
The company changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms in October 2021. Consequently, sources may discuss the same business as Facebook when describing the 2021 milestone and as Meta when discussing its later corporate identity and focus on the metaverse.